Okinawa Base
by Curiositatis
Summary: The kanmusu of the Imperial Japanese Navy have had the most experience in dealing with the Abyssal invasion - but how will they handle the arrival of ship-girls of other nations? Part of the Operation Eclipse series.
1. The Spy

Footfalls mingled with the crackling sound of leaves underfoot as a solitary figure walked on the carpet of yellow leaves that covered the avenue. Misty sunlight threw the clear-cut shadows of the great maples and oaks into solid relief. A breeze filtered through the whispering trees, whispers that murmured the secrets of centuries past and present.

Whispers, of course, that a wandering Kirishima could not and did not wish to decipher. The gentle whispers meant little to her, and she continued on her way. Autumn was in full swing and the silence that the melancholic season brought with it was palpable, unbroken by the multitude of soft murmurs that swept through the park.

At last, she came to the spot she was looking for – a great oak with its roots forming almost unnatural niches and alcoves. Many carefree parties of laughter and merriment had been held here, games of hide-and-seek and treasure hunts. But now in the grip of autumn the great tree stood silent – only the wind carried echoes of those days.

Kirishima looked around her, checking left and right for anyone following. Satisfied, she walked around the tree, her eyes searching the roots. It didn't take long; halfway around it she found Haruna sitting in one of the smaller alcoves, waiting expectantly, the remains of a light repast beside her.

"You weren't followed?" Haruna asked.

"No, Haruna-sama. I did my usual checks, as requested," Getting onto all fours Kirishima crawled over to Haruna, who relaxed and, giggling softly, let her gently crawl over her until their faces were inches away.

"I guess it's been rather boring lately, hmmm?" Kirishima softly whispered, adjusting her glasses idly.

"Hard to say. The Admiral isn't letting slip much," Haruna coolly answered. "I, on the other hand…"

Kirishima smiled. "I know." Without any more prompting she leaned in close, and nothing more could be said.

* * *

In a leaf pile a little way from the great oak the little scene reflected on the polished glass of a camera, hidden craftily amongst the leaves. Its lens captured every passionate movement, every little shift of the jumble of white robes.

Inside the leaf pile the obtrusive spy studied the images, feeling a little thrill of daring as the camera clicked again – another delicious little picture to add the files. She wiped a bead of sweat off her brow – even in the cool shade of the trees the interior of the leaf-pile was baking – she felt like a chicken in an oven.

At last the little scene relaxed and stilled. The spy detached the camera from the tripod and flipped through the images, contemplating each picture's caption. She thought of the possible headlines for the little affair – _Sisterly Love: a secret affair? Trysts under the trees? _Or something else? The spy smiled to herself as she carefully extricated herself from the heap, taking care not to make too much noise. The evidence was sown, and the seeds of a scandalous story began to sprout.

* * *

The viscous liquid in the pot bubbled to a boil while a merrily humming Kaga stood by, chopping up an assortment of vegetables. In a singular flash of bright steel the chunks flew into the pot.

The stew turned from blood red to a murky brown almost immediately. She peered at the mixture, breathing in the fragrant spices.

"Good enough," Kaga murmured to herself. "Maybe a bit more fuel…" Idly her hand found the fuel can and raised it up to the rim.

"Ka-ga-senpai! What are you making today?" With an abrupt shock Kaga felt the can slip from her fingers. The iron can clattered on the tiles, its contents oozing out on the polished surface. Quickly and decisively Kaga whipped her bow up and deftly notched a green-feathered arrow. She looked down the arrow and saw Ikazuchi, frozen in her tracks.

Oil continued to leak from the can as Kaga stood her ground, bow drawn and tensed while Ikazuchi looked at the arrow, her expression melting from a frozen frieze of a joker into a face of pure fright.

Kaga was the first to break the pregnant silence. "Ikazuchi. Why are you here?" she asked in a flat monotone.

"Aha-ha-ha-ha, me? I was just checking if…." Her voice shook and trailed away as she tried to edge towards the door.

Kaga's grip on the bow tightened. "Now you make this mess," She glanced down at the spreading puddle of oil. "And now you clean it up."

"M-me? B-but I have to go and see- Eeeek!" Ikazuchi jumped hurriedly out of the way as Kaga loosed the arrow, which flew and exploded in a great burst of flames against the wall. Ikazuchi felt the force of the blast and tripped backwards, landing hard on the tiles.

"Ouchy…" As she nursed the spreading bruise on her thigh, Ikazuchi looked up and saw Kaga looming over her, bow at her side. "Clean up the mess," she said, throwing down a large sponge. "Or you won't be getting any dinner tonight."

"Yes, Kaga-senpai…" Ikazuchi ruefully took up the sponge and began mopping up.

Behind her, however, another little camera watched the whole spectacle from the safety of a dusty niche in the spice rack. Its tiny lens contracted and expanded, covering all the movements and gestures.

In the adjacent room the same conniving spy sat straight in her chair, watching the replay of the awkward scene. With a rapid click she paused, tapped a few keys, and another juicy image saved itself into a folder. The spy closed the live feed and leant back, smiling to herself. _And there_, she thought to herself, _is another little story all sewn up._

She idly shifted over to another desk, where several photos and pieces of print lay pinned and arranged over a cork board. Scrutinising the layout, she moved the pieces around, edging some into the more obscure columns and others into prominence. With a flourish she placed the last item on the board and grinned, admiring her own handiwork.

_Tomorrow's going to be a hot day_, she thought, and it thrilled her to think of the little outrages her small but explosive paper was about to cause.


	2. Alarm and Encounter

A muffled roar echoed through the polished halls, reverberating on every angry note. There was a note of fury in the roar that many of the girls shivered at – they knew who it was, but at the same time they shrugged inwardly. It happened all the time.

Doors slammed open. Some, immune to this behaviour, looked at the glowering Kongou with a frank curiosity: what was it now?

Kongou stared back at the looks of the lazing girls, barely controlling her rage as she searched the room with her furious eyes.

"What is it, Kongou-san?" asked Fuso, not even looking up from her embroidery frame. There was no reply – the furious battleship had moved off to the next room.

"AOBA! SHOW YOURSELF!" screamed Kongou, as she kicked open the next door. Instead she found Ise, Hyuuga, Nagato and Mutsu sitting around a green-baize table – the soft click of bone tiles could be heard. Not this one. Before any of the battleships could even register surprise Kongou swept away from the doorway, moving on to the next room.

"What the hell was that all about?" Mutsu pondered aloud.

"The usual, probably," Ise answered as she adjusted her tiles, throwing down one. "Riichi!"

* * *

Kongou raced up the steps, her fury guiding her to every disused room, her vengeful hands scouring every nook and cranny. No sign of the offender.

"WHERE ARE YOU, AOBA!?"In her blind fury she raced unknowingly into the administrative department, a blur to the sedate workers who ambled quietly in the pristine corridors. Surprised aides scattered as the raging battleship flew through the corridors.

She kicked down another, blurred door, rushing in. She was about to call again, but upon seeing the scene before her, the anger within her died almost in an instant.

Every inch of the hall was covered in ordnance maps, little pins in red, blue and green dotted all over the surface. Before her was the largest table she had ever seen – on it was a complete map of the Pacific region, furnished with little blocks with tiny flags that littered the field. Her fury turned into awe as she gazed at her surroundings. She was so dumbstruck by the sight that she did not notice the Admiral standing at the side of the table.

The Admiral surveyed her with frank curiosity, like the countless others who Kongou had barged in on. "Kongou-san? Did you need something?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

Kongou felt her face growing hot extremely rapidly as the attention of the assistants in the room turned to her. "Err… I, um, was wondering…." Her nerve failed her as the Admiral's stern brown eyes bored into her.

"Does this, by any chance, have to do with this morning's paper?" the Admiral wryly asked, sensing her lingering anger.

Kongou was silent. The Admiral had completely read her thoughts. Her forehead flushed with embarrassment, and her conscience kept her dumb.

The Admiral was silent. After regarding her for a moment he motioned to her with a gesture – slowly, but agonizingly she took a seat next to the door.

To her relief the attention of the assistants quickly shifted back to the giant table. Some bent back over their stations beside the radios; others ran documents to the various radio operators and board plotters. Kongou recognized them as the destroyers and cruisers that she saw the least, the girls (that she had seen) that never went into battle – Nagara's brood lined one side of the giant map, tenderly shifting the pawns on the board, while the little Mutsuki sisters raced along the upper galleries, laden with stacks of documents.

She saw Oyodo sitting next to the Admiral, clipboard in arm, observing the movement of the pawns and scribbling away; various other destroyers manned the radios and receivers – Hatsushimo, Oboro, Arare, and a whole host of others, pushing pulling, racing, jabbering, ordering, and movements so fluid it appeared as if the entire room was a single machine.

Kongou observed the Admiral nodding as he surveyed the board, the strict and correct Oyodo summarizing the situation for him. Like a magician unfolding his tales his hands swept here and there, pawns moving to his will.

A high-pitched bell chimed – on this signal the paddles were raised aloft, like spears at the salute. To this forest of paddles the Admiral stood up.

"Alright, everyone, we'll take a fifteen minute break. Dismiss!" With a cacophony of sighs of relief the assistants stood and stretched, the operators and controllers chatting amicably. At last the pawns stood still, and the radios (save for one) fell silent.

Kongou continued to watch, fascinated, as some left the room in twos and threes, while others broke out bottles of water and wrapped snacks. The Admiral exchanged a few last words with Oyodo before the cruiser herself walked out of the room, concentrated on her clipboard. At last, the Admiral was alone. But she needn't have worried – the Admiral beckoned for her to come forward.

But even before she could get out of her chair a gaggle of girls – Oyodo among them – burst into the room.

"Sir! Sir!" they cried. The Admiral, startled once more, turned his attention to them. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Oyodo spoke up, breathless but excited. "Recon patrol 7B in sector 4-south has just radioed in – the Battleship Hime has been spotted and is being engaged by an unknown fleet! They say they've also identified formations of unidentified aircraft over its location! What-"

"Admiral-san!" This time Oboro called from the balcony, the lone radio operator still remaining. "Patrol flagship Sawaka is reporting in – her recon planes have identified the aircraft as possibly Messerschmitt Bf 109s! Whatever could they be?"

Me 109s? The Admiral jogged his memory, back to the early days of his career. Flashbacks came before him, and he remembered his first overseas posting – to Kiel, into the welcoming arms of the Germans. He remembered the 109s and their yellow spinners often flying overhead on routine patrols. But what were German ships doing so far away from home?

"Kongou, come over here for a moment." The lithe battleship got out of her chair and, feeling a little sheepish amidst the stares of the little group of assistants (the gaze of Oyodo particularly unsettling), walked over to him.

The Admiral smiled at her. "Kongou-san-" His voice was warm, reassuring. "Did you, by any chance, have any experiences concerning the Germans?"

"Ummm… not particularly, Admiral-sama." Kongou glanced over at the waiting gaggle, who continued to stare at her. "I don't think I've ever had contact with any modern German warship."

"Thank you, Kongou-san." The Admiral continued to smile, but as soon as Kongou stepped back his demeanor immediately changed. The benign smile turned into a grim look as he surveyed the map again. After regarding it for a moment he raised his head, towards the balconies.

"Oboro-san, advise Sakawa that we are on friendly terms with the unknown ships. Any assistance signal coming from that fleet is to be answered post-haste. If possible, escort them back to base. That is all." The tough little destroyer turned back to the radio, rapidly relaying the orders.

"Oyodo-san, get everyone back in. I want headquarters on the line just in case this escalates. Everyone, we're on red alert!" The Admiral jammed his peaked cap back on his head, his expression serious, and Kongou finally saw the last facet of her beloved Admiral – the cheerful Admiral, the cunning Admiral, the kind Admiral, and at last, the fighting Admiral.


	3. Eagles' Landing

The white phone rang and a scrabbling hand picked it up. Sweat dripped onto the receiver as the officer listened intently, nodding frequently to what was being said.

"…Sixteen-thirty-five? Confirmed? Hold on a second…" One receiver went down while another was raised. "Harbour watch? Yes, it's me; refocus on south today, expecting arrival… Sixteen thirty-five. Got that? Yes? Thank you."

"Okay, back on…" The officer shut the other telephone and picked up the first again. "Harbour watch has been notified… Yes, anything else? No? Alright then…" The receiver went down with a clack.

The red telephone rang. This time the officer hesitated, wary of what might come. With a steady hand he lifted it to his ear. "This is Vice-Admiral Yoshifuru speaking."

"Ah, so? I'll be glad if you could send the documents over… With who? 21st Division? Sounds fine. Thank you, sir."

The Admiral set down the receiver and leaned back into his chair. He looked out of the window and down at the quay and saw a throng of girls gathered on a picnic blanket, enjoying lunch by the water.

"New arrivals, huh?" Focusing on the throng, the Admiral could make out the distinctive figures of Kaga and Mutsu handing out the sandwiches, and the eager hands of the destroyers scrabbling over the best ones. Yoshifuru took a sip from his teacup. "I hope we will be able to accommodate them…"

* * *

"Hey, where are you going with that banner?"

"Oh, this?" Inazuma turned to the passing Natori, who eyed the bright red lettering on the furled banner curiously. "I'm taking this to the pier, the Admiral said so."

"Ah, really?" The light cruiser smiled, adopting a relaxed stance. "What's it for?"

"Something about new arrivals…" Inazuma crimsoned, remembering her orders. "Awawawawa! Forget what I just said! Ah, I'm going to be late!" The embarrassed destroyer ran down the hallway, waving as she retreated. "Sorry, Natori-san!"

Natori watched as Inazuma ran around a corner and disappeared from sight. There was a slight movement behind her and she turned to meet her sister, Nagara.

"What was all that about?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing, just Inazuma being herself again…"

"Haha, when is she never herself?"

"Guess you're right. Still," Natori looked back down the hallway. "I wonder what she meant by that…" she murmured to herself.

* * *

Wood clacked on metal as Kaga trudged up the long, winding stairs, up towards the lookout post. She pushed open the teal door, balancing her tea tray with one hand.

The tea stayed completely flat as Kaga guided across the small workspace, the afternoon rays filtering through the slanted windows. She strode over to the observation deck door and gingerly opened it, finding her sister, Akagi, leaning on the handrail with eyes firmly set on the south.

"Akagi." The lookout turned to regard her sister, who stood stock-still, still holding the tea tray with one hand despite the high wind atop the tower.

"Kaga-san, you brought the tea?"

"Someone had to."

Akagi laughed a little at that, and with the perfunctory welcoming the two carriers sat down on the metal platform. The tea was poured, sipped, and relished by both parties, but even during the break Akagi kept her eyes on the horizon, keen eyes raking across the blue expanse. Kaga meanwhile continued drinking, understanding her sister completely.

The little informal break passed and Kaga departed, taking the tea tray with her. The lone carrier peered through her binoculars once more, and held her breath as a gaggle of black dots appeared on the horizon. She kept her eyes on them for a few seconds, hardly believing the time – it was too early!

Whipping out her bow and deftly notching a single, yellow-feathered arrow she peered down at the little black specks that now gathered on the horizon. Without another moment of hesitation she let the arrow fly, sending the scouts streaking over the bay. Then she ran inside.

* * *

A long, dreadful siren rang out across the naval base. Girls stopped and listened to its wail, while others ran for cover, expecting the worst.

"This is Vice-Admiral Yoshifuru speaking, I repeat, this is Vice-Admiral Yoshifuru speaking. There is no need to panic. Could all members of the welcoming party please make their way to their designated positions? Apologies for the siren." The siren fell silent as the voice cut off.

"Dammit Admiral, why d'you have to scare us like that?" Haruna glanced irritably at the silent Tannoy speaker. "Anyway, as I was saying… Eh?" She looked around, but her companion had gone. "Eh? Ehhhhh?!"

"Hiryuu-san, slow down!" Soryuu panted as she tried to keep up, barely flashing a smile in time to the lamenting Haruna.

"Soryuu too slow!" Hiryuu teased, turning around effortlessly and running backwards, "Come on, sister, you should be able to catch up!"

The two carriers ran into the main dockyard just as the others began to stream in – Inazuma and Ikazuchi carried aloft the great white banner, bearing the words "WELCOME TO OKINAWA" arrayed in bright, multi-coloured lettering – Ise and Hyuuga, those two solid battlewagons, striding purposefully towards the front, while Kirishima and Hiei followed, both in high spirits.

Hiryuu and Soryuu slowed to a halt and Hiei greeted them with an enthusiastic wave. The gathering of ships slid into formation, waiting for the arrival which would, as a close-knit band that knew nothing of the worlds beyond the horizon, upend the lives of every ship in the base.

* * *

"It's not very far from here," Sakawa called, as the patrol led the stern and correct German squadron through the open oceans towards the island.

The double arrowhead formation of the combined squadrons sliced through the waves as they neared Okinawa – seeing the great lookout tower of the base on the horizon heartened the ships of the patrol squadron.

To the escorted Germans, however, the sight of a foreign base was a great curiosity. Leberecht shouted out in excitement, pointing wildly at the island growing on the horizon. Bismarck and Gneisenau looked on in fascination as the island came into sharp focus, while Seydlitz stared up with great interest at the yellow-finned aircraft that hovered over them, like gulls welcoming brethren home.

Only Scheer and Konigsberg remained entirely unmoved by the sight of Okinawa. The dutiful light cruiser kept the silence as Scheer did, following only the movements of the Japanese ship-girls leading them. Scheer herself crossed her arms, looking upon the island filling her sight, deep in thought.

"Aaaaand we're almost there! Pyaa~ I wanna take a long bath after this, so sore…" Sakawa stretched in relief, while Noshiro chatted with Kuroshio to her side.

Soon the combined fleet was sailing into Okinawa harbour. There a surprise greeted the returned – a great welcoming party, but both squadrons knew who it was for immediately. The Agano sisters waved their farewells and moved off with the destroyers to the other pier.

Scheer bowed to them, and as she did so she was suddenly aware of the pervading silence that reigned. As the Germans shrugged off their gear and steeped ashore, she pondered over what was to come of this fateful encounter.


	4. Led by Wolves

_Author's note: Consider this a combined IJN/KM chapter. The KM story is suspended until further notice. _

* * *

"Aaaaah!" Hiei fell out of her bed as the blast rocked the dormitory, instantly waking her up. Tangled in her pillows and blankets she tried to get up, but was laid low again as Kirishima toppled on top of her, also shocked out of bed by the blast.

"Ow! Kirishima, what are you doing! Get off!" Hiei yelled, as she kicked out, trying to disentangle herself from the other battleship.

"What's g-g-g-going on, Hiei-san?" Haruna asked sleepily, from under her own covers. "Who's making all that noise…?"

"H-huh? Hiei-san… Ow, my head… Glasses, glasses, where are my glasses?" Kirishima clambered off the struggling Hiei, crawling around, clutching at the ground for her glasses.

"What the hell was that?!" Hiei shouted, as she struggled into a sitting position. "That sounded like a bomb-"

At that precise moment the door slammed open with another loud bang, clipping the crawling Kirishima on the shoulder and sending her sprawling. Hiei nearly jumped out of her nightgown and Haruna sleepily opened one eye to see Kongou, in full dress, standing at the threshold.

"Rise and shine, sisters! Training begins extra early today, doncha know?" Kongou tutted at the sight of her three sisters all in various stages of disarray.

"When did you change the time?" Hiei protested, rubbing her eyes at the light spilling from hallway.

"A true sister of the mighty Kongou-class battleship is ready at all times! No excuses! Up we get, up we get!" Kongou sing-songed, clapping her hands incessantly as the other three groggily got up and slouched for the bathroom.

"Do you think this has something to do with the Germans?" Hiei whispered to Kirishima.

"Probably…. Does she expect us to train with them? During third watch? Oh no…" Kirishima made a face, and Haruna giggled. She shot a cautionary glance over the shoulder at Kongou, who watched them with increasing impatience.

* * *

"Squadron, _achtung!_" Scheer called. Her command echoed through the deserted parade ground, and the five that lined up before her tried to keep themselves upright – in the case of Gneisenau and Seydlitz the façade broke down nevertheless as their knees buckled under the strain of the previous night.

Scheer ignored their failed attempts at self-discipline, putting on an air of unconcealed disgust. Under her contemptuous gaze Leberecht and Bismarck shivered, while Konigsberg, as immaculately dressed as Scheer, stood and stared straight.

The armoured cruiser regarded the pathetic group before her for a moment. Strutting up and down the line, staring deep into each girls' eyes, searching through their very souls, the ragged, once-proud 'fleet-in-beings' of the Kriegsmarine had every reason to be nervous about their fate.

"You may think that just because we are on friendly soil you have every reason to deviate from your discipline," Scheer shouted suddenly. "But there is no such excuse in the ranks of the Kriegsmarine. I am disappointed, and disgusted in every one of you for having presented yourselves to our allies in such a disgraceful manner."

Everyone but Konigsberg visibly winced at these words. Scheer's words had hit home – they _were _being disgraceful.

"Let this be your last warning," Scheer whispered, but in such a tone that everyone could hear her. "I will not tolerate any more disappointments from any of you. We are here as the chief representatives of Germany – I will not allow any of you to sully that honour."

"I want all of you cleaned up and presentable within fifteen minutes. We will commence our training as planned. Dismiss!"

Regaining some of their sharpness four girls broke ranks with some of their old professionalism, and headed for the dormitory. Only Konigsberg stayed, and sidled up next to Scheer as she walked towards the pier, looking out at the calm, grey waves of the morning sea.

The light cruiser remained silent with Scheer as they watched for the sunrise, waiting for the return of the others.

Just as Bismarck and the rest disappeared into the main dormitory building, Kongou and her sisters marched out of it, moving in a straight line into the parade ground. All of them were fully armed, and Scheer turned away from the sea and looked at the approaching battleships with a cold, seemingly disinterested eye.

"Squadron, halt!" Kongou ordered, and they crashed to a halt a hundred yards from Scheer and Konigsberg.

"What are they doing…?" Konigsberg murmured, staring at the four battleships lined up before them. She watched as Kongou detached herself from the line and assumed command of the group.

"Okay! So, what do you guys want to do?" Kongou cheerfully said.

"Huhh?! You mean you woke us up for training and you have no idea what to do?" Hiei cried.

"Well, ummm…" Kongou blushed as she looked for a way out of the glares her sisters were giving her. Even the mild Haruna was looking at her with some resent. Then she had a strangely bright idea – why not ask the Germans?

Kongou spun around and faced Scheer, who continued to look on neutrally. The Japanese battleships shivered inwardly as she looked into the German cruiser's cold, piercing eyes. They stabbed icily at the bubbling enthusiasm inside her.

"H-hey there, Scheer-san! Ummm, I was just wondering if you could help us out a little here-"

"Certainly, Frau Kongou." Scheer walked away from the water's edge and approached Kongou, and at last the Kongou sisters could see her in detail. Scheer wore the navy-blue double-breasted jacket with the usual adornments of ribbon bars and pins. A modest dun-coloured skirt extended down to the mid-thigh.

But it was what lay below the skirt that fascinated them. Grey, imposing, sleek full-length greaves ending in red stilettos covered Scheer's legs, the leading edge glimmering the early sun, looking sharp enough to slice through metal. Two massive, dull-grey cast triple gun turrets hung on either side, supported by a contoured and intricate system of servo motors and hinges.

"Umm… err…" Kongou was at a loss for words as she studied the cruiser before her – no matter how imposing and professional she seemed, it was hard to believe a girl of her stature commanded an entire battle fleet of some of the world's finest ships.

Scheer looked blandly at Kongou, studying her as well. _These Japanese show their emotions too much,_ she thought to herself.

"Perhaps, Frau Kongou-" Her three sisters giggled at the honorific title and Kongou's face grew even redder. "I can assist you here. If you have no qualms about joining our session-"

"Us? Joining you? I d-don't know what to say…"

"Please, Frau Kongou, I welcome this opportunity for our girls to meet on the training grounds. We are very much eager to assist your brethren with our expertise." Scheer spoke with a stilted, authoritative, and for the first time in a while, gentle voice.

"Well… I guess it can't hurt… What do you say, sisters?"

"Count me in!" Hiei enthusiastically said. Kirishima and Haruna nodded in agreement.

Kongou grinned happily at her sisters, and then turned back to Scheer. "We're all in your hands now, Scheer-san."

"Very well, Frau Kongou." Scheer smiled thinly at her new pupils. "Would you kindly form up behind my… colleagues," She looked distantly behind Kongou, as Leberecht and Gneisenau emerged from the dormitory, "as they arrive in formation."

"Okay, Scheer-san!" Kongou skipped back into line with her sisters and they advanced behind Scheer, back to where Konigsberg stood, transfixed by the sight of Scheer leading four Japanese battleships towards her.

"Frau Scheer, what…" Konigsberg was lost for words as Scheer stopped next to her and about-faced.

"Consider them as part of our group now." Scheer murmured.

"As part of… our group?" Konigsberg whispered back.

Scheer didn't respond – she looked ahead to her four companions returning from the dormitory, all dressed immaculately and no longer showing any stress. Bismarck led the other three forward, and without even looking curious or surprised at Kongou and her sisters lined up ahead they marched in front of them, halted, and turned to face Scheer.

Bismarck stepped forward. "All units accounted for, Frau Scheer."

"Very well, Frau Bismarck." Scheer signalled to Konigsberg with a little gesture – with a little nod she marched to Bismarck's line, halted, then turned around.

"Consider all of you under my command for this session," Scheer began, her voice brisk and serious. "Today, we begin training amongst allies." She addressed the front rank, her comrades. "I want each of you to show the courtesy expected of you as members of the Kriegsmarine."

"Today, we will begin with some gunnery trials. Each of you will fire three broadsides at a still target, then another three at a moving target." Scheer turned around and walked towards the pier edge. She pointed at a blackened and battered stone cairn far out on the harbour. "There is your first target. Who's first?"

There were some murmurs of uncertainty as both parties discussed who should lead. Scheer, not one to take delays, chose one instead. "Bismarck! Step forward!" she shouted.

"Yes, Frau Scheer." Walking forward onto the pier the imposing German battleship stood with legs apart, firmly grounding her. Smoothly, the turrets on her joint mounts swung to face the sea, and with a little concentration, Bismarck ranged her guns in.

"Fire!" All at once the monstrous fifteen-inch guns boomed with a resounding blast, and in seconds a flurry of shells landed close by the blackened target, kicking up a massive welter of water. But no shell struck the cairn itself.

"Again!" Scheer commanded.

"Fire!" Again the guns roared in a violent chorus. Another massive core of water kicked up around the target, but only a single impact was registered. Bismarck, reddening with embarrassment, stole a furtive glance at Scheer, but the cruiser continued watching the cairn.

"Again!"

"Fire!" The last eight shells thundered off towards their mark – seven struck the water harmlessly, while once again only one struck the rock.

"A poor display, Bismarck," Scheer drily commented, without even looking at her. "I expect to you to do better tonight."

Bismarck left the pier edge tasting the ashes of embarrassment. While she slouched back into the watching crowd, Gneisenau stepped up to the edge.

This time Gneisenau wasted no time ranging in her guns. Unlike Bismarck she fired her guns gradually, one at a time, to better gauge the deviation from the wind and angles. In the first two salvos a total of four struck the cairn. In the last three shells landed neatly on the cairn, while another two just barely glanced off it.

The battlecruiser, flushed with success, looked round at Scheer, who remained impassive. "Just up to standard." Coming from Scheer, who was known to have high standards, it felt like a relief to Gneisenau. She almost skipped back into the crowd, buoyed with satisfaction.

Slowly, but surely, the rest of the German girls completed their trials. Leberecht astonished the Kongou sisters with her above-standard shooting, while Konigsberg showed off her pinpoint precision by landing fifteen out of twenty-seven shots straight on the rock. To all of this Scheer remained unmoved, making a few cursory comments here and there.

Finally Seydlitz stepped up, her wild dirty-blonde hair now in tied in neat plaits. This was what Kongou and her sisters had been waiting for – the carrier. Seydlitz took her position on the edge and lifted her black cranequin crossbow and aimed dead-on for the target. A pull on the trigger, a twang of a bowstring, and a grey dart was racing for the target. It burst into a trio of Messerschmitt fighter-bombers and they climbed steadily, gaining altitude for their dives.

Before they could reach the target, Seydlitz loosed off another two bolts, winding up the crossbow with practised ease. A low drone followed by the keening voices of the diving bombers, and a little rain of black bombs descended on the target. Five out of nine struck the cairn, each exploding with the force of their real-size counterparts.

Seydlitz did not even wait for Scheer's assessment as the last of her bombers returned to her and were safely stowed. She turned and walked back into the crowd, from which the nervous Kongou now emerged.

"Frau Kongou, to the edge, if you please," Scheer said.

Kongou moved to the water's edge and looked at the target before her. It was tiny, a mere speck on the horizon. With doubt in her heart and trembling slightly at the stares of eight pairs of eyes boring into her back she took aim at the target.

"Fire!" All at once the fourteen-inch guns thundered away in a violent fusillade, matching the noise and blast of Bismarck's guns in intensity. Scheer watched with some interest as the shells splashed around the rock in an irregular spread, none hitting the target.

"Shit!" Kongou swore as the water settled once more. Inching her guns closer inwards she fired once more. This time the shells fell in a tighter pattern – but still, none struck the target.

Kongou swore again, and she let loose another barrage through her anger. Despite her fierce concentration the shells landed much the same way, except for one which merely glanced off the target.

Kongou, red with rage now, prepared to loose off another storm of fire, but Scheer laid a hand on her arm.

"That's enough, Frau Kongou," Scheer warned, gently but also with a shadow of the same icy edge that sent a chill down Kongou's spine.

"O-okay, Scheer-san…." The battleship turned and walked back into crowd, as red-faced as the forlorn Bismarck. Haruna stepped out of the crowd to relieve her, and moved next to Scheer.

Gneisenau, watching from the crowd, felt her cheeks redden at the sight of the charming Japanese battleship. Her heart skipped a beat as the grey-haired Haruna looked back at the crowd, and for a brief moment their eyes met. Gneisenau stood transfixed on the spot as Haruna smiled at her, remembering the previous night.

Haruna fared better than her sister on the range, but she fired hers in faster barrages than the rest. While only seven directly struck the cairn, the intensity of the fire made it so that the smoke from the first blast still lingered as the third salvo flew through the air.

Haruna bowed to Scheer, who responded with a curt nod. As she walked back, Hiei followed, giving her a high-five as they traded places.

As Hiei and Kirishima took their trials, Gneisenau tried to edge closer to Haruna, inadvertently bumping into Leberecht on the way. The little destroyer looked up at her, slightly bemused.

"A most average display," Scheer announced blandly, as the last of Kirishima's shells smashed into the much-disturbed water. "All of you will have to improve over the next few weeks. I expect each of you to practise in your own time-"

"Scheer-san?" Hiei piped up, her hand in the air. "What about you? I don't think you've shot yet…"

A deathly hush swept over the other German girls as they looked, mortified, at Hiei, who blushed as even her own sisters looked at her with some consternation.

Scheer, however, didn't seem to mind the challenge at all. Turning away from the assembled girls, her two triple-gun turrets whirred into life, as the cruiser adjusted her aim carefully. In less than five seconds Scheer's triple elevens blasted their shells towards the target – Hiei and the rest of the Kongou-class girls watched with astonishment as they counted one, two, three, four, five, six shells striking the rock, engulfing it in with a thick white smoke. One hundred per cent accuracy.

"Amazing…" Kongou murmured as her sisters stood in silence, watching the smoke clear from the target. No shell had hit the water at all – the water remained calm.

"As I was saying-" Scheer continued, but before she could say another word a bell tolled, signalling breakfast. A slow trickle of awakened girls crossing the square became a horde as they all ran for the mess hall, eager for the pride of first position.

"Come on Kongou-san, let's go!" Kirishima called, as she broke from the crowd and ran for the bigger crowd now crashing down on the mess doors.

"Kirishima-san, wait! We're still training here, you-"

Scheer watched as Haruna and Hiei followed suit and bolted, clearly putting food over training. An interesting set of priorities, Scheer thought. Kongou, hesitating for just a second longer followed, but not before bowing in apology to Scheer.

"Frau Scheer?" Gneisenau said, looking at the running battleships. "Shall we continue with our training?"

"No."

All five heads turned towards Scheer. Their expressions belied their confusion at that single word of denial and they looked at her, hardly believing their ears.

"We shall resume this session later. For now, I believe it best if we follow our hosts."

"B-but, Frau Scheer, this is-" Bismarck stammered, thunderstruck by the break in discipline.

"Never mind the procedures at home," the tall cruiser snapped, walking slowly away from the pier. "Here we follow the procedures of our hosts." She brushed past Leberecht, who, with dawning comprehension, began to smile.


	5. History in the Making

Breakfast was remarkably quiet as the girls of Okinawa gathered in whispering clumps, glancing frequently at the table of German girls in the corner.

Kongou and her sisters sat at the table adjacent and tried to look inconspicuous – but having just trained with Scheer and her company, and also being the first to see them in 'action', they began attracting glances as well.

The Germans ate quietly, following their perceived idea of decorum in a Japanese mess. Bismarck, Gneisenau and Seydlitz ate heartily, while Scheer nibbled on toast and sardines and Konigsberg did the same. Leberecht smeared jam and butter in great heaps on her toast and devoured the lot.

But it was the silence amongst them that piqued the curiosity of the Okinawa girls. Polite, certainly, but unnerving all the same. They were professional even off duty. Or could it be that they were never really off-duty at all?

Their plates cleaned of crumbs, the German squadron rose as one from the table, considerably startling the onlookers. Without even looking at the Japanese girls they filed out of the mess in an orderly line.

Normality resumed as the door clicked shut. The voices arose from their whispers and within moments the mess hall was filled with chatter, most discussing the girls who had just departed. Sighs were breathed from their admirers, while Nagato discussed possibilities with the other senior battleships. Others talked of their beauty and manner, while others sauntered towards the Kongou sisters at their own table.

"Hey, Kongou-san, how did it all go with Scheer-san?" Sakawa asked jauntily. Behind her a little group of Mutsuki-class – Mochizuki, Satsuki, and two others – gathered warily around her skirt.

Kirishima answered for her sister. "It went fine! Though we didn't get to finish all of it, eh?"

Haruna and Hiei nodded. Kongou grinned benignly at the destroyers, who skipped over to her.

"Kongou-san, Kongou-san, were the German girls nice to you?" Satsuki asked, tugging on Kongou's sleeve.

"Don't you worry!" Kongou pinched the destroyer's cheek, still grinning. "Everything's A-OK with us and Scheer-san!"

"They look scary, Kongou-san," Mochizuki piped up, and the other three nodded in agreement. "Their clothes look so dull too!"

Kongou laughed. "Dull clothes! Your clothes look rather dull too, all blacks!" Everyone laughed, including Mochizuki. The destroyers hugged Kongou and Kirishima in turn, and waving their farewells, left the mess. Sakawa wandered off to re-join Oyodo and the other cruisers at their table.

The sun continued to rise as the four battleships left the mess, and the Germans were nowhere to be seen. There were classes and operations happening all around base, 'gripe' sessions on the main exercise yard (of which the destroyers and cruisers seemed to be forever enslaved to), aides carrying documents from department to department, and small groups lounging on the grass, basking in the morning heat.

Kongou led her sisters to the well-trampled patch of grass that they always relaxed on after breakfast, stretching the joints and then flopping down onto the grass to gossip and discuss recent developments in the fleet.

"I wonder what the Germans are up to?" Haruna said aloud, sitting cross-legged on the grass. Kirishima joined her, followed by Hiei. But Kongou remained standing. The other three looked expectantly at her, and she hesitated for a moment before sitting down.

"Probably relaxing in their rooms, I'd guess," Kirishima answered, idly wiped her glasses.

"You think so? I don't think Scheer-san is the type to let them do that."

"Well, what do you think they're doing?"

"Training!" Kongou interjected, lightly slapping Kirishima on the shoulder. "All she seems to care about is training, and I really think we should be getting into-"

"Huhhh!? More training? I think we get enough of that already with Nagato-san and her stupid late-nighters!" Hiei protested.

"Hmph! I never knew my sisters were so weak! When Nagato-san hears about this-" Kongou cut short, for a shadow a fallen over her. She turned around.

Nagato stood there, with Mutsu standing a little way behind. Kongou spluttered in shock, and weakly greeted her. "Nagato-san… er… can I help you?" She quickly glanced at her sisters, who were all looking in different directions, avoiding her gaze.

"Yes, Kongou-san." Nagato's voice was neutral, giving away no hint of having heard what Kongou was about to say. "Why aren't all of you at the general meeting?"

Kongou had no idea what she was talking about. "General meeting, Nagato-san?"

"Yes, in five minutes, in Conference Room 1. We're going to be laying down the general procedures for encountering foreign ships-"

"Surely you don't need us?" Kongou cut in, frowning. "I mean, we're not on the general committee-"

"We need one representative of your class. Send them down as quickly as you can." The senior battleship swept primly away, with Mutsu trailing behind.

"Well," Kongou muttered, tuning back to her sisters, not noticing their faces about to burst with laughter, "if she wants a representative, she could have said just me…" She got up. "See you later, sisters, and try not to have too much fun without me!"

Kirishima, Hiei and Haruna watched their leader flounce away, skipping lightly on the sandy path. Once they were sure she was out of earshot, they burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Did you see her face when she saw Nagato?" Hiei exclaimed.

"'Er, can I help you?'" Kirishima made a face, and the others broke into louder roars of laughter.

"Ohohohohoho! That'll teach her!"

* * *

The tension was palpable in the conference room as the main battleship leaders of the base sat around the long table, waiting for the arrival of the Admiral. They averted their eyes from each other – Fusou, arms crossed and looking out of the window; Ise, cleaning her sword, but very slowly; Nagato and Mutsu, both trying to look stern and commanding – the former looking more uncertain than anything else, the latter succeeding very well; and Kongou, not knowing whether to look tough or unconcerned.

Only one thought lingered in each of their minds. Where was the Admiral now?

The answer to that question lay four rooms away. The Admiral at the present moment was sitting at his desk, surveying the black-haired girl sitting before him.

He was unsure of what to make of Scheer. She bore the name of an Admiral who had been toasted to in the mess halls of Wilhelmshaven, as he knew from his exchange trip there early in his career. His portrait had hung in the main hall, a commanding, rakish man with a fitting beard.

The Admiral got up. He gave the papers on his desk another look, frowning slightly as he reread its contents. He turned away from Scheer.

"I'm not quite sure what to make of these orders," the Admiral said.

"It is not important if you understand what these orders entail." Scheer replied, her voice neutral. "But it is important that you issue them immediately."

"Under whose authority? I see no seal bearing the trust of the Emperor and Diet stamped on the documents you bear. You expect me to follow your orders against our highest authority?"

"In the meantime, yes. Time is of the essence. We were sent here to fulfil the orders laid by our masters in Wilhelmshaven-"

"But here, your commands are of no weight." The Admiral turned around to face Scheer, his voice steeling with resolve. "You ask us to forget the past? The past is not so easily forgotten in these waters."

"I am not aware of any long-standing resentment you may have with the nature of these commands. In any case, they are irrelevant to the overall scheme."

"Irrelevant?! You would allow the Americans and British-" the Admiral fairly spat out the words, not concealing his great distaste, "to tread upon our homeland? You, who has never known-"

Unfortunately for the Admiral at this very moment, the instrument of his undoing knocked gently on the door. The Admiral, unaware of any such impending doom, sat back down in his chair, and pressed the buzzer on his table.

The door opened. Ooyodo stood there, with a sheaf of papers in her arms. Her gaze flickered with mild surprise at Scheer sitting in front of her, but it quickly snapped back to the Admiral, whose face remained a delicate shade of puce.

"Is this a bad moment?" Ooyodo queried. "Shall I come back later?"

"No, no, Ooyodo-san. Scheer and I were just discussing the finer points of a couple of matters. What is it?"

"Important messages from HQ, sir. And the battleship conference is starting now, sir – shouldn't you be at that right now?"

The Admiral glanced at his carriage clock, and in an instant sprang from his seat. "You're right, Ooyodo-san! How could I have forgotten? The girls are already waiting for me, I suppose. What a fool I have been!" He made for the door, and Ooyodo swiftly stepped aside from the doorway.

"Ooyodo-san, leave the messages on my desk. I shall read them later. In the meantime, Scheer-san" The German cruiser stood up, expectant. "You are free to go – we shall talk later." With that he ran off down the hallway.

The two cruisers were left alone as the hurried footsteps faded away, and the silence remained even as a door slammed shut in the distance. Scheer politely bowed to Ooyodo, and left the room. Ooyodo looked out at retreating form of the other cruiser and shrugged.

She walked inside. Taking two documents from the top of her sheaf she laid them down on the wooden desk, straightened them, and departed for other offices. One paper contained the details of a top-level transfer to another base. The other one, a heftier stack of official papers, came stamped with the seal of the Diet.

* * *

The Abyssals came from the dark depths of the ocean, everyone knew that. But how did they arrive on Earth? How did they become the biggest threat to mankind? Nobody knew.

Indeed, the first invasion had appeared in the middle of the Pacific, not far east of the Aleutians. They appeared in packs like the wolves of Siberia, and like the past conquerors of those icy wastes they had swept down on the first major landmass they could find. They happened upon a string of moderately-sized islands to the south.

The first blasts off the coast of Hakodate signalled the beginning of the first Abyssal raids on the Japanese mainland. There would be more to come.

The Japanese government, while still under the grip of the American occupation, dithered under the clamour of the citizens of the north. No effective response was available as the Abyssals swept further south, at one point even reaching as far south as Iwo Jima, cutting off the Japanese home islands from the rest of the Pacific. The Americans, unable to counter the rising threat, retreated to the safety of their island strongholds in the east.

So the Japanese fought doggedly on, isolated from the rest of the world as the other nations of the world found themselves blockaded by the same forces. These were not forces that could be defeated in the normal fashion. After a string of defeats up and down the Honshu coast that caused the removal of the Imperial Japanese Navy as an effective fighting force, military planners had to look afresh for solutions to the crisis.

Then one bright spark at Yokosuka Naval Base, contemplating another disastrous defeat of Japanese forces at the hands of the Abyssals from his observation post, came up with the idea that would revolutionize naval power for decades to come: instead of fighting Abyssals from conventional ships that were not designed to fire shells at incredibly small targets, why not design a new class of ship that could do so?

And thus a staggering new form of shipbuilding was inaugurated – the Japanese, the first to come up with the technique, called it the Kantai Project. The furnaces and dry docks of Japan's existing shipbuilding industry combined with the hallowed rituals of the Shinto priests into a brave new world of machine and mysticism, all in an effort to create a counter to the Abyssal menace. And they succeeded.

In one of the first battles of the new Kantai Project creations with the Abyssals at Yokosuka, the Japanese girls succeeded in driving back the Abyssal forces, although with some loss. It was here that the civilian population first had a glimpse into what the military was doing to combat the new menace. Despite some attempts by the Censor Board to confiscate and suppress public information on the Kantai girls, word quickly spread across the islands.

Instead of the public outcry that the government had been expecting, the nation swung overwhelmingly in support of the new initiative. Surprised at the new-found public support, the government proceeded to milk the propaganda value of the Kantai Project as much as possible. The public, especially the younger generation, rallied around the example of the brave girls fighting at sea. It quickly became fashionable for young girls to dress like the Kantai girls, and many clamoured to see their heroes in the light of day.

But prolonged use of the girls as a fighting force, combined with the arcane methods in which they had been called into being, had revealed to Maritime Command a most unfortunate side-effect of the early Kantai girls. The early models, under the strain of combat and the stress of seeing their comrades sunk, had weakened emotionally and most were submitting to depression and in some rare cases, suicide.

The government was disturbed at the findings. It deliberated at length for days on what to do with the surviving girls. But with the advice of Japan's most eminent physicians, who had themselves argued for weeks over the "human legitimacy" of the Kantai girls, the Ministry of Defence issued a new set of regulations to all commanders in charge of the surviving girls – it essentially boiled to "treat them with respect, love, and a sense of duty. Think of them as your children."

The commanders duly obeyed. Within weeks the regulations had effectively structured the new way of life on Kantai bases. Some commanders went a stage further and instituted elementary classes for the younger ones much like as if they were normal children. For the older girls, such as those identified as battleships and carriers, they were given responsibility for the various functions of the base.

Gradually, morale improved. As new recruits entered service and frequent sorties (mostly successful) were ordered to clear the seas for vital shipping, word of the new weapon reached Europe. The conservatively-minded navies of the Continent scoffed at such outlandish ideas, but some of the more radically-minded saw a glimmer of hope.

For Britain especially, conservative elements within the Navy had continually blocked any attempted research of ship-girls, claiming it as a concept unfit for the Atlantic and Mediterranean. But it was only after political agitation and much bitter feuding in the media that the go-ahead was given for active research into the Kantai method. Even then British research into the field was consistently hindered by the Admiralty until an Act of Parliament, no doubt agitated by the big merchants who looked despairingly at the eventual strangulation of the overseas trade, was enacted to prevent any more Navy interference in the research.

The Americans had no such illusions about the Abyssal threat. Within three days of hearing of the new method an emergency bill was introduced into Congress calling for the appropriation of funds for Kantai research. It was passed with overwhelming support, the only resistance coming from Southern senators who opposed any dealings with the 'murderous Japs'. American research continued under the guidance of the Rand Corporation, and within three years the first girls were ready for service.

The rest of Europe soon followed after the example of the two superpowers. Italy was especially eager to develop its own fleet in order to assert dominance over the Mediterranean. France, alarmed at the rapid expansion of the Italian fleet, quickly implemented its own construction plan for a revitalized Marine Nationale. Germany was subdued under the Potsdam agreements but proceeded with research anyway, despite French and Russian protests.

All of their maritime ambitions came to an abrupt end as the first Abyssal raids swept through the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. The entire French coast between Brest and Bordeaux was attacked with much damage inflicted. Massive Abyssal fleets occupied the Mediterranean from Cyprus to Sardinia, with Gibraltar subjected to a blockade. Fleets of equal size occupied the North Sea – it was here that the Royal Navy Home Fleet met their greatest defeat, losing a majority of their surface units with relatively few Abyssal losses.

Thus the Abyssals claimed their dominion of Earth's oceans. The major powers settled down into a grudging alliance with each other, each developing their own Kantai forces primarily for the defence of their homeland. But men are not easily cowed into submission.

The stack of papers now lying on the Admiral's desk would be a testament to that resistance. Years of planning and coordination between the world's naval powers would see to the first great act of rebellion since the first Abyssal war. And it called for something entirely unexpected.


	6. Tribulations

"Again!"

Eight guns thundered away over the bay, and eight shells splashed harmlessly by the cairn. Bismarck cursed to herself.

Scheer watched as Bismarck zigzagged across the churned-up bay water, her eyes picking out uncharacteristic stumbling, faltering, and weariness on Bismarck's part. Never mind that the battleship had spent the night partying and the watching cruiser had sensibly retired early – in the Kriegsmarine there was no such excuse.

Bismarck maneuvered back into position and ranged her guns in again, the servo motors whining as they geared the turrets back into formation. With a kick out she darted left, firing one turret; then right, firing another; then again, and again. The guns quivered and exhaled white smoke as they blasted their charges, and smoldered as Bismarck once again swore– no hits.

She returned to the pier. As she climbed out Scheer regarded her coldly for a moment, and then switched her attention back to Gneisenau, who entered the water at the same time.

"Gneisenau, moving out!" the battlecruiser chanted, and skated toward the starting position.

Standing a short distance away from the rest of the German girls a small throng of Japanese onlookers watched the trials. Among them the Kongou sisters sat by the water's edge, minus Kongou herself.

Gneisenau glanced briefly at the onlookers and instinctively noticed Haruna again, her heart skipping a few beats as she registered her silky black hair and always-cheerful expression.

She turned her attention back to the cairn, heart still beating wildly. She took some deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.

"Okay, stay calm…" she whispered to herself as nine shells slid into their breeches with an audible clunk. The turrets rotated in their joints. Gneisenau skirted left and blasted the first salvo, not caring where they landed; within a few seconds another triplet of clunks was followed with a slow advance on the target, _fire!_ Two resounding explosions on the target.

Finally, she sped to starboard, turning at the last moment to range the guns in and fire within a second of stopping. The shells arched and fell. One explosion.

She turned for the pier. The Japanese girls fell into chatter as they discussed her performance – there were many heads being nodded and many smiles. Gneisenau met their admiring glances with a thin smile as she cruised back to the pier.

Scheer was less welcoming. Acknowledging her performance with a dismissive glance as she sat down, the armored cruiser, cold in the heat of day, directed Leberecht to begin her trial.

The white-haired destroyer jumped into the water, landing with a little splash. She sped directly for the target, and swept to port as it became visible, firing off her first wave of torpedoes. The white foaming trails blazed through the water and onlookers were astonished as they exploded in unison extremely close to the target.

Leberecht switched the detonator off and did not hesitate for a second as she directed her guns onto the target. A rapid volley of shells splashed all around the target she inched the guns in closer, each successive shell drawing tighter breaths from the watchers. She did not stop and, like Gneisenau, advanced slowly on the target.

Water continued to splash frighteningly close to the target. Leberecht finally allowed her guns to cool down before slotting in a new batch of shells. With a storm of sharp barks the tiny shells flew and landed in such a tight pattern that obscured the white flash of a direct hit. But a direct hit was clear for all to see, a new black scorch mark on the target.

The Japanese were clapping as the destroyer returned to the pier. She did not seem to notice, but her sisters could see the satisfied curve of a smile as she landed. Scheer remained impassive, Seydlitz mollycoddled her as she came in, and the rest seemed rather impressed, if not envious, of her result.

"Hey, Frau Seydlitz, stop that!" Leberecht admonished as the carrier continued to hold her close.

"But you did so well! Better than dear Bismarck, too!"

"That's not my fault, Frau Seydlitz!" Bismarck angrily protested. "These Japanese, their vile drinks-"

"That's enough of that, Frau Bismarck." Scheer coldly warned. "Remember on whose soil you shelter on, and whose hospitality you depend on."

"Yes, but it is not my fault-"

"Don't blame." Scheer interrupted. "It is only your effort that counts."

Bismarck fell silent, but remained red in the face. Seydlitz continued to hold Leberecht in her vice-like grip, Konigsberg was standing at attention and Gneisenau was staring off into the distance. Scheer knew what they were all thinking about.

"Everyone up!" Scheer shouted. Everyone jumped to their feet, and the attention of the wavering onlookers snapped back to them.

The five others edged into a small line. They stood ramrod straight, knowing what was expected with such an order.

Scheer looked out to sea for a moment, to where the blackened cairn stood obstinately on the horizon. Then her gaze snapped back to her assembled sisters. Even Konigsberg shivered inwardly at the sight of her cold, grey eyes searing through them, searching for a reason, any reason, as to why they had all done so badly before her.

She couldn't see how. They had all come here in the best of conditions, fought battles without sustaining a single scratch, and had held their discipline in check. Why now?

Scheer was confused. For the first time in her life, no less. And on foreign soil too! What was her squadron coming to?

"Squadron…" For the first time in their lives, the five German girls could hear the uncertainty in her voice. It chilled them even more than her freezing stare. "Squadron, dismissed."

Her voice was almost calm. Bismarck and the rest turned and broke off, each of them just as confused. Bismarck and Gneisenau drifted together, whispering, Leberecht was immediately grabbed by Seydlitz, who cackled as she bundled the struggling destroyer under her arm. Konigsberg stayed by Scheer's side.

"Frau Scheer, what's wrong?" Konigsberg timidly asked, afraid to see her mentor so listless.

"Nothing, Frau Konigsberg." Scheer sighed. "Nothing at all." What was she feeling? _What was this feeling?_

* * *

"What happened to Frau Scheer, Bismarck?" Gneisenau anxiously asked, as they walked up the pier and back onto the gravel of the yard.

"I don't know, Gneisenau. But I am glad she did not criticize my performance. That was very embarrassing."

"You know, Frau Bismarck, I think _we_ embarrassed _her. _I've never seen Scheer so silent at us before. She would be picking apart our trials like the vulture she is-"

"What's that about a vulture, Frau Gneisenau?" Seydlitz skipped next to her, still dragging Leberecht in her wake. "Is it about Scheer-san, is it, is it?"

"Frau Seydlitz, you sure have warmed up to Nippon," Bismarck remarked.

"I love it! Sunshine, clear waters and cute Japanese girls to play with! What more could I want?" Seydlitz dragged her destroyer-doll forward, hugging her tightly. "But I'll always love dear Leberecht-chan first, isn't that right?"

"Stop it, Frau Seydlitz, you're hurting my arm," Leberecht complained, wriggling in the carrier's tight grip. Seydlitz grinned broadly.

Gneisenau laughed. "As if anyone else would take her away from you, Frau Seydlitz! But surely some of the Japanese destroyers must meet your fancy?"

"Oh, there are some, Frau Gneisenau. But I prefer our own. Say," Seydlitz leaned close to the ambling battlecruiser, "I see you've got someone already in your sights…"

"W-what?" Gneisenau instantly reddened. "W-w-what are you talking about, Frau Seydlitz?"

"Haha, you're nervous! The all-seeing Seydlitz sees everything! You've been fancying one of the beautiful Kongou sisters, haven't you? The one with that dreamy look most of the time, she of silky black hair…"

"S-shut up, Seydlitz!" She lashed out at the carrier, but she was too slow – Seydlitz had danced out of striking range.

"Frau Gneisenau, what's the matter?" Bismarck enquired, a puzzled looked creeping up on her face.

"O-oh! N-n-nothing, Frau Bismarck! Dear Seydlitz here was being a little cheeky, that's all-" She quickly glanced at Seydlitz, who alternated between cackling in delight and cavorting around with Leberecht.

Bismarck grunted in acknowledgement and continued walking. Gneisenau felt a guilty pang in her heart, Seydlitz's discovery hitting home – she had two crushes now. But what to do with them?

There was without a doubt that both liked the look of Gneisenau as well. She stood nearly as tall as the mighty Bismarck, but sported more elfin features, braided wheat-yellow hair, and bodily was as thin as the cold Scheer. The battlecruiser wore the livery of the Kriegsmarine with pride – a sleeveless battleship-grey tunic trimmed with red and a maroon skirt, with a braided jacket for colder climates. As with her sisters, she sported a black officer's peaked cap.

She was more sensitive, too. As an accomplished violinist she carried her violin everywhere, practicing and giving recitals in her spare time. Gneisenau savored art more than any other girl in Wilhelmshaven, in sharp contrast to her sister Scharnhorst, who was a more combative type.

They walked back to the main dormitory halls, conscious of the quick glances that were being thrown at them from all angles. But when they got to doors, they found someone blocking their way.

"No admittance during daylight hours," she stoutly warned. She was the stern type, with slick straight black hair and a dress of starched blue with white collar and gloves.

"Who are you?" Bismarck asked.

"My name is Nachi, of the Myoukou-class cruisers. It is an honour to meet you. But rules are rules. Off you go, girls of Deutschland!"

"But we have nowhere else to go!" Bismarck angrily protested. "What are we to do?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. Where is your superior? Perhaps they can tell you. Now move along!"

Bismarck opened her mouth to retort, but Gneisenau quickly pulled her away by the arm. Together they wandered around the base, taking it all in and at one point even circling around the running track several times. They were about to enter the cloistered glade when another Japanese girl in blue rushed up to them.

"Ummm… you wouldn't happen to be the girls from Germany, would you?" she timidly asked, her voice high-pitched and nervous.

"Yes, that's us," Seydlitz answered cheerfully. "Who might you be?"

"U-umm, my name's Haguro, of the Myoukou-class cruisers. I-I was wondering if you might all like to come to teach our destroyers today-"

"Us, teaching?" Bismarck frowned, but the other three grinned. "You want us to teach your destroyers? Why?" Gneisenau asked.

"My sister, Ashigara, who normally teaches them, is sick today," Haguro explained. She looked down and wrung her hands. "Everyone else is too busy and I can't teach three at once-"

"_Three _classes?" Seydlitz exclaimed, her eyes shining. "Sign me up!" The carrier hoisted Leberecht up again, who bawled futilely once more against her grip.

Bismarck and Gneisenau sighed with resignation, and nodded in acquiescence. Haguro bowed low and uttered her thanks; together they walked to the school block.

* * *

The ten destroyers, a motley bag of members from the Mutsuki-, Hatsuharu-, and Shiratsuyu-classes stared in awe of the master that now stood before them. With Ashigara sick and Natori away on patrol, they thought they'd be free to their own devices. How wrong they were.

Admiral Scheer was perhaps the scariest teacher they had ever had. She looked on them with cold interest, and her presence confounded them.

"I have been told," Scheer began, breaking the dead silence with her clear, stilted Japanese, "that you are all learned in general operations, escort duties, base-keeping, and night operations."

The ten nodded.

"But you are still behind – very far behind – on fleet combat operations." Scheer looked dead-on at the class, including Konigsberg, who sat in the front row, taking in every word. "Today we shall begin with the core tenets of fleet combat-"

Satsuki raised her hand. With an acknowledging nod from Scheer, she spoke. "Scheer-sensei, will you teach us your methods?"

"Fleet combat today is uniform around the world. Perhaps due to cultural differences Germans may operate slightly differently to the French or British, but I am glad to say that German and Japanese doctrines are now quite compatible." Scheer answered.

"But you've seen the British and French in action, Scheer-sensei?" Satsuki persisted.

"At times." Scheer replied blandly. "Now, if you would all pay attention to this diagram…"

Rapid chalk strokes followed these words as Scheer drew up the diagrams of battles past, battles that she had watched unfold from the cramped operations room in Wilhelmshaven and battles that she had fought in. The ten destroyers (and Konigsberg) watched with rapt attention as chalk lines sprawled into contour lines, movement lines and wind lines.

"Now," Scheer said, setting aside her piece of chalk. "We identify several ways a fleet can organize in an imminent engagement. We identify the mobile assets," Scheer pointed to the destroyer and cruiser symbols, "the battle line," her finger travelled to the battleship markings, "and the pre-emptive strike assets." Scheer tapped the carrier symbols.

The attention of the destroyers never wavered for a second, and at the point, neither did the gaze of Bismarck, Gneisenau, and Seydlitz, who all watched Scheer expound the doctrine before the class from the windows along the corridor.

"What is she doing?" Seydlitz breathed.

Bismarck and Gneisenau were speechless at the sight of Scheer teaching destroyers. Perhaps the only equivalent they could draw was when she briefed them on the mission the month before they had set sail for Japan, but this – this was too much to absorb all at once.

They remained stock still and staring at Scheer as she blithely continued the lesson. "Now, a question to you all – how might we best observe the strength of the enemy, from the assets I have outlined?"

Konigsberg's hand immediately shot up into the air with practiced ease. Scheer ignored it. Slowly, but surely, several hands went up. Scheer pointed out the pale hand of Murasame. "Yes, Murasame?"

Murasame stood up. "We should use the aircraft of the carriers to scout ahead, ma'am!"

"A logical suggestion, Murasame, and one of _two _possible correct answers." The pink-haired destroyer sat back down. "Yes, we can use one or two aircraft from the carriers to scout ahead of the main battle group. There is very little risk on the part of our units, aside from the loss of those aircraft."

"Now, is knowing the strength of the enemy enough?" Scheer deviously asked.

Nine destroyers chanted out "Yes, ma'am!" jarred only by a single "No, ma'am!" Scheer homed in on the single dissenter, Samidare.

"Why not, Samidare?"

The blue-haired destroyer stood up. "We don't know their formation or intent, ma'am!"

"Very good, Samidare. Copy this down, everyone – it does not do to know just one facet of the enemy. _Every scrap of information may be just as important as the other._ We may not see the importance of a minor detail like the distance between each enemy squadron, but knowing a fine technical detail can be the difference between life and death in battle."

"She is enjoying herself, Frau Gneisenau," Bismarck murmured.

"Undoubtedly, Frau Bismarck." Gneisenau agreed.

"Weren't we going to go see dear Leberecht tell her stories?" Seydlitz asked. "Weren't we…?" But the carrier made no move. She too was spellbound by the sight of their leader so open.

* * *

Silence is a custom in the mess halls of Germany, and it is even stated very clearly in the Kriegsmarine base-keeping handbook that this custom ought to be observed by all German ship-girls, at home or abroad. The handbook concedes that light chatter may spring up inevitably in defiance of the rule, but stresses the sanctity of communal silence.

It was, then, only natural that the six Germans that now ate stonily in the mess of Okinawa feel discomforted by the noise around them. Tension grew in their space like the rising tide. But not all of it was the handbook's fault.

Bismarck, Gneisenau and Seydlitz continued to shoot the impervious Scheer quick glances, not daring to speak of it before her, lest they incur her wrath. Leberecht and Konigsberg looked mildly puzzled at the senior three. Were they worried about their midday trials?

Scheer, however, continued to have misgivings about the feeling that now suffused inside her. She had done a generous duty in filling in as a teacher, but it came with a sensation she had not expected. It was like a single match alight in a chamber of ice.

"So, so, Satsuki-san, how did it go?" Mochizuki whispered, glancing at Scheer.

"It was… fine, I guess, Mochi-san." Satsuki absentmindedly replied. She picked at her food without any real direction.

"Don't call me Mochi-san!" Mochizuki huffed.

"But you're all sweet and mushy, Mochi-san…" Samidare commented.

"No, I'm not! Shut up, Samidare-san!"

All three of them, along with their compatriots on the same table, jumped as the German girls once again rose in unison, carried their dishes to the drop-off point, and silently filed out.

"Still silent, I see," Samidare sighed.

"I like the carrier the best. What's her name?"

"That's Seydlitz, Mochi-san."

"What did I say?!"

"Sorry, Mochizuki-san."

While Bismarck, Gneisenau and Seydlitz ran the usual laps around the track to wind down (and Leberecht off at a destroyer's party), Scheer went with Konigsberg to the baths again. As expected, it was deserted. They washed, slipped in, and relaxed as the searing water ironed out their aches.

"Frau Konigsberg," Scheer quietly said, after a long silence, "What… what did you think of me today?"

The light cruiser's heartbeat surged as she digested this question. She turned to Scheer, who rested her head by the bath's edge, no strand of her slick black hair out of place, looking the picture of innocence. It was an expression of honesty and humility that Konigsberg had waited for ages to see. Even the hot warmth of the baths could cut through the chill in her heart.

"I…" Being an adviser, albeit a temporary one, to Scheer was a breathtaking experience for Konigsberg. "I think you were… magnificent, Frau Scheer."

"Hmmm." Scheer's expression remained the same as she closed her eyes, deep in thought.

"Was I?" she finally said, directing her gaze straight up. "I have never taught before. I felt small seeing those Japanese faces so attentive on me." Scheer sighed – another shock for Konigsberg, who fought hard to stifle her gasps.

"Tell me, Frau Konigsberg," Scheer asked, her voice small, "What… do you think of me?"

Konigsberg went red at that. She wanted to tell Scheer she was beautiful, she wanted to tell her that she liked her, and she wanted her to be happy. But as she opened her mouth to speak, her nerve failed.

"I think you are doing just fine, Frau Scheer," she said, keeping her wishes at bay for the sake of decorum. "The Japanese don't appear to quite understand our methods-"

"Oh," Scheer interjected. "But we are on their territory – it is only fair that we should observe them as equals. As Herr Erichsen would advise: 'In Rome, do as the Romans do.'"

"You mean you want us," Konigsberg said, "to oblige Nippon?"

"Don't call them Nippon!" Scheer flared, making the other cruiser jump with fright. "They are called the Japanese – we must have respect for our allies. They have given us shelter, hospitality and their own respect. Are we so ignoble to not oblige them?"

"Nein, nein, Frau Scheer, my apologies, my apologies." Konigsberg hastily replied.

Scheer sunk into the hot water, drenching her hair again. Rising, she resumed her place at the water's edge.

"I was wrong," she continued, her voice quieter, "I was wrong to think that the Japanese would be similar to us. Their mannerisms and their methods… are so much different from ours."

Konigsberg felt it wrong that the mighty Scheer, the symbol of efficiency of the Kriegsmarine, should feel so humbled. "But it is not your fault that we did not expect this, Frau Scheer. We have been raised too long in our own school-"

"And that is precisely why things must change, starting from now," Scheer declared, the steel returning to her voice. "We must never be so presumptuous again. We have a lot to owe to the Japanese."

"But, Frau Scheer-"

The slender, tough cruiser climbed out of the bath, ignoring Konigsberg's objections. Konigsberg, confused but curious to her leader's intent, followed.


	7. Hinamatsuri

A wonderful sound reverberated through the wooden walls of the dormitory. It sang of clean mountain air and carried the sweet breath of the yellow fields and green hills of _home._

Gneisenau thought only of them as she deftly handled the bow against the hot strings of her violin. The others sat or lounged around her, taking it all in. In her music they could see it all clearly, and each remembered with stunning accuracy their friends and colleagues who might also wonder of them through their own virtuosos.

Scheer, however, sat in the next room and continued to write her daily report. The music reached her ears, but no further – where work was concerned idle music was, to her, of very little value.

The sharp strains of the violin also carried over to the next room, into the bedroom where Kongou, Hiei, Kirishima and Haruna now also lay draped over their bunks. They wore their nightgowns and robes, also ready to retire to bed.

"Amazing, no?" Haruna said, closing her eyes, smiling up to the ceiling.

Murmurs of agreement. Had Gneisenau known that her crush admired her so, she would have had a heart attack. Lucky the walls were so not so thin to permit that.

The bow slid into its final run, drawing out the last note and letting the sound fade away. Everyone around Gneisenau sighed at the brilliance and emotion of the music, and the Kongou sisters did the same next door.

Scheer opened her door by a small crack and everyone turned to look at her. "Bed time!" she barked.

"_Jawohl_!" they chanted in unison. Everyone clambered into their bunks and drew their blankets over, maintaining unit precision even in downtime. The lights went out.

In the next room Kongou stood and strode over to the light switch. "Time for us to go to bed too!"

"Eh? But it's not even past nine, Kongou-san!" Hiei protested.

"No excuses! Training tomorrow! Come on, sisters, we can bear an early-"

"Kongou-san," Haruna interrupted quietly, "tomorrow is the Doll Festival, remember? Nobody trains on festivals, and we'd get laughed at if we did."

"Oh!" Kongou slowly turned away and went back to her bunk. "I almost forgot..."

* * *

Night falls quickly on Okinawa.

The stars hung silently over the blacked-out base, the moon hiding its pale face, lending no light at all to the blackened land. Not a wind whispered; not a soul stirred.

Or at least, no human soul.

A door slid open, and remained open. A stealthy figure slunk out, a shadow in an expanse of darkness, like a drop in the ocean. The drop slid down the channels, but she did not follow the will of the currents – it followed its own course, switching currents as she pleased. Gliding effortlessly through the pitch-black corridors, the shade eventually found her destination; a nondescript sliding door, one out of many in the building.

A noise. The shade, her hand at the door, sprung back with a light step. Her keener senses could make out another form approaching her position in the darkness. But unlike her own quiet step this form lumbered clumsily down, making far too much noise.

So intent was the shade on this stranger that she did not notice another shade lumbering from behind, until it was too late – a muffled shriek from both of them as they collided, falling forwards together; in the darkness the shade was aware of the pattering of feet, growing closer-

She fell hard on the wooden floor, the other shadow atop her. She could not identify the other as her arms lay pinned under her own weight. Her clumsy assailant did not move, only letting out a low groan indistinguishable from anyone she knew.

Suddenly, light – a very dim light, peering from the door crack. Someone was inside the room already; confound it all! She tried struggling again, but to no avail.

Her mind raced as she thought of who could be in there, but no sooner had she developed a suspicion another light flared, this time from above.

She looked up. A small sea lantern shone flickering light over the sorry scene, and she could recognize the sleek black hair and pale face of Fuso looking down at her.

"Dear, dear, what's all this?" she said softly, tutting at the three at her feet. "Not vying for the Admiral's heart already, girls? Kongou, Shigure, and Nachi, of all people!"

Kongou and Nachi struggled upright. Shigure rolled out from underneath and lay flat on her back, gasping for breath. All of them averted their gaze, each unwilling to betray their intents.

"So, what to do with the lot of you…?" Fuso said in a mocking tone. "Oh, I know! The Admiral's going to receive a little note in the morning… or will I go myself? I haven't seen him yet… maybe I'll go in and pay my respects?" A thin smile crept on the battleship's face. "Maybe even let slip about three little birds out one night…"

"Fuso-san, you breathe a word of this to anyone, I'll-"

"But, but, but, Kongou-san!" Fuso interrupted, still in that same mocking voice. "You're all out here without permission – only I have the right to be out here. See?" She raised the lantern, and the light shone on the silver badge of the watch officer.

"Now, Fuso-sama," Nachi breathed quietly, now sitting in a kneeling position, "wouldn't it be better to let us all go? It's the Doll Festival today, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to…." Her voice trailed away into silence.

Fuso thought for a moment. "You have a point, Nachi-kun." She closed her eyes for a moment, and sighed. "No one deserves to be punished on such a happy day."

The other three breathed silent sighs of relief. As the began to stand and dust themselves off, however, Fuso stopped them again. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes, even in the insubstantial light of the sea lantern.

"Before you go, girls, how about giving me the dolls you wanted to put up? Come now, don't look surprised," she said, as she registered the guilt on their faces. "Three dolls, or your confessions to the admiral. Not a hard bargain, hmm?"

With great reluctance they handed the intricate toys into Fuso's arms. They were similar in design to the empress dolls atop the stand, but she noted the subtle differences that they had each effected on their copies. Fuso admired them briefly, and put them under her arm.

"Your secrets are safe with me, girls. Run along, now." Her mocking tone floated after them as they slunk back into the shadows to the warmth of their beds.

* * *

"Come on, Shikinami-san!"

"Come on, Shigure-san!"

"Could you help me tie the bow please?"

"Ah, watch where you're stepping, please!"

The day was young, and already on the polished wooden floors of the dormitories the pattering of feet could be heard as the young destroyers raced to and fro, some dressed, others with their kimonos in their arms, others yet with nothing in their grasp. Voices called from above and below, left and right, a cacophony of delicate and squeaky voices bringing to life the staid dorm rooms.

But none of this mattered to Scheer and the others, who were already outside, stripped to their tunics. They ran laps around the quiet parade ground. Perhaps on a normal day they might have been idly observed by the unburdened girls, but there was no-one to be seen. They ran on without a second thought, not even the naturally curious Seydlitz making any comment.

When they returned to the dorm building they found chaos all around them. The little destroyers raced up and down the corridors, jostling everyone in their way. Even the more senior girls were caught up in the commotion, helping the girls with their dresses, trying in vain to restore order in the hallways.

"So colourful!" Seydlitz squeaked, as two more destroyers raced past them. "I hope to see you in one soon, dear Leberecht!"

"I hope so too!" she replied, eyes shining at the exquisite patterns of the kimonos. "I wonder what's going on today?"

The answer was not very far away. Ahead, Scheer spotted the severe Ise shepherding a few of the wayward destroyers back into line. The battleship saw her, and walked over.

"What's all this, Ise?" Scheer asked in her usual cold tone, not noticing the shudders of her companions behind.

"Ah, Scheer-san! How could I forget? You must all be very interested to know what's going on today, no?"

"Quite, Ise."

"Today is the Hinamatsuri, or Doll Festival!" Ise grinned, a full, hearty smile with lots of teeth. "Today we bless our little ones for the year ahead by ridding them of bad spirits-"

"Bad spirits? Superstition?" Bismarck disdainfully murmured.

"Silence, Frau Bismarck."

"-and burning those straw dolls at the tori. Then we celebrate with sake and rice cakes back here. How does that all sound?"

"Sounds great!" Seydlitz exclaimed, Gneisenau and Leberecht also grinning in anticipation. Behind them Konigsberg remained aloof and Bismarck looked apprehensive. Scheer, however, betrayed only the slightest interest in the details.

"Traditional, you say?" Scheer finally said. "Well, we are your guests, and I suppose it would be bad manners to refuse hospitality-"

"You have every right to decline, Scheer-san," Ise replied, smile still on her face, but her voice took on a new edge. "But I assure you we do this only as respect for our heritage-"

"No, no, Ise, you misunderstand me," Scheer interrupted, shaking her head. "We are more than happy to follow along with today."

"Ah, my mistake." Ise brightened, and then turned to the two youngest, Konigsberg and Leberecht.

"Only those young in the service – or young by appearance –" Ise bit her lip as two battleships and a carrier looked daggers at her, "-can wear the kimono for today. Would you like to join in?"

Leberecht nodded enthusiastically. Konigsberg looked uncertain, but the expectant gazes from her compatriots forced her hand. She nodded as well.

"Good! We're a little short on dresses today, and I'm not sure where Fuso-san is… Ah, there she is! Fuso-san!" Ise called out to a tall, pale-faced girl at the end of the hallway. Her hair was as long and as black as Scheer's, and she stood as tall as Bismarck.

"Ise-san? What is it?"

"Got any spare dresses around? We've got a few late." Ise nodded at the Germans behind her.

"Oh! Well, yes, I think I've got a few… hold on…" Fuso went inside her room, while Ise and Scheer waited expectantly. "Aha, there we go… perfect! Okay, send them in, Ise-san!"

"Go on," Ise said reassuringly to Leberecht and Konigsberg, who both shuffled shyly into Fuso's room. Then she turned to Scheer and the rest.

"The rest of us have much to do. There'll be a small festival on in the afternoon, games, activities, all the usual stuff. But I don't think that you'll be needed anywhere, so…" Ise's voice trailed off as she tried to think of something for the German girls to do. "I guess you can all take it easy until the main ceremony, I suppose." She started to walk away.

"Wait!" Bismarck called, "isn't there anything that we could do to help?"

"No, not that I can think of," Ise called back. "Go find Mutsu-san and ask her, I don't know, everyone's so busy."

"Mutsu? Who's that?"

"Sister to Nagato-san, short brown hair, somewhere in the office compound. You figure out the rest." Ise disappeared around the corner.

"Now what, Frau Scheer? They've left us all alone, nothing to do-"

"Nothing to do?" Scheer coldly repeated. "We have plenty to do. Operational notes to go over. Tactics to revise. Matters to attend to."

"But, Frau Scheer!" Gneisenau piped up, "Today is a Japanese holiday – shouldn't we treat as such as well?"

Scheer thought for a moment. Here it was again, the eternal conflict inside her. She heard two voices, one the spirit of her usual self, the cold, calculating, ruthlessly efficient ship that she was, and always had been.

The other voice was new. It had whispered to her from the very day she had set foot on Okinawa – ever since Ise had admonished her clumsy manners. It sent new feelings from the persona long suppressed, feelings that her old self had been unable to suppress, let alone ignore. There was a yearning to be free from cold chains and to become a wild wind, blowing freely across the seas. But she would not let herself become that. No. Not just yet. But even so, she wondered how long she would have to wait until she could.

"You are right, Frau Gneisenau." There was the quiet voice again. But the cold voice came just as quickly. "Perhaps a small holiday would do… But no more afterwards, you hear me? We have a duty, and we will not rest until that duty is fulfilled. Understand?"

Nods of understanding. Scheer viewed them briefly for a moment, and then turned away from them. "Go, then. You are free from me for today."

Seydlitz and Gneisenau hesitated, then skipped away. Bismarck remained, unsure in the face of her newly-acquired freedom.

"Frau Scheer, I-"

"Go, Frau Bismarck. You have earned your respite for today." This Scheer said in the same monotone, but without any of the icy edge to it. Bismarck took one long look at Scheer, then turned to follow the other two.

* * *

"There we are. All done!"

The kimonos fitted the pair perfectly. Leberecht stood in the red and green dress and admired it from all angles, using the mirror to look over every detail. Konigsberg's face was red as she fingered the soft pink fabric, stuttering her thanks to Fuso.

"It was nothing," Fuso calmly replied, adjusting the bow on Konigsberg's waist. "After this I really have nothing to do, so I do all I can before..."

"Thank you soooo much, Fuso!" Leberecht cried, literally skipping around the room in delight. Fuso smiled demurely.

"Ummm, Fuso-sama…" Konigsberg continued to look uncertain about her dress. "Is this okay? I'm really not sure about all of this…"

"You'll be fine," Fuso gently replied, walking around the light cruiser, inspecting the kimono, looking for rough patches. "You've already mastered the language so well and now you look like one of us… What's to fear?"

"Nothing, nothing, Fuso-sama. Nothing…" They walked out together, only to be met by an adoring Seydlitz, an aloof Bismarck, and a beaming Gneisenau.

"My god, Leberecht, look at you! So wonderful! So cute!" Seydlitz exclaimed. "That dress looks so perfect on you!" Leberecht smiled nervously before the drooling gaze of the carrier. "And you, Konigsberg, I never knew you could look so adorable!"

"A-adorable?!" Konigsberg spluttered, growing red in the face while all three battleships laughed. Far off in the distance, a bell sounded.

"Ah!" Fuso cried, "the ceremony is about to start! Come along, now," she urged, walking briskly down the corridor. The other three followed in her wake. Scheer was nowhere to be seen.

But not for long. To their great surprise and perplexed horror, they found her sitting quietly in the doll room, where Fuso led her two charges into next. It was crowded here, with perhaps all of the base's young girls in attendance. They immediately broke into excited whispers as Leberecht and Konigsberg appeared. The other Germans gaped at Scheer sitting serenely among the mass of Japanese girls, a blotch of grey alone in a sea of vibrancy.

The Admiral, a clean-shaven man of thirty, sat at the head table, flanked by his staff; the battleships Nagato and Mutsu, the carriers Akagi and Kaga. They smiled as the party filed in and sat at a vacant table near the back of the hall.

The bell sounded again. Multitudes of hands grasped the cups in front of them, bypassing the plates of soft rice cakes that lay in little piles before them. The Admiral stood.

"Ladies, it is my honour to toast the fortunes of all of you on this auspicious day." The Admiral spoke with a lofty tone, unusual for a man of his age. "I bless you all for the coming year - may we have even greater success – and may we forever live in harmony."

A simultaneous cry arose as all, including the Germans, raised their glasses and saluted the Admiral. As soon as the Admiral's rump settled on his seat the room descended into chatter as the girls, never mind keeping their kimonos clean, grabbed at the rice cakes. The sake flowed freely, but a close watch was put on the jug being passed around.

Then a strange thing happened. One by one, heads turned to one direction, chatter ceased as eyes scrutinized, and frowns sprang up in the place of jolly grins. All eyes turned towards the magnificent doll stand that stood next to the Admiral's table. They travelled upwards, beyond the exquisite figurines of courtiers, animals, and the staples of the emperor; they stopped at the emperor himself.

The eyes then swivelled straight onto one in their midst. They travelled back and forth between the fake and real; suspicion turned to comprehension, comprehension turned to outrage. The chatter arose again, but this time slowly, menacingly. The Germans were at a loss to understand this new phenomenon – they looked all around them, but no eyes were on them – instead, they looked towards the girl closest to the Admiral: Nagato.

Whispers became cries and some started pointing the aberration out to their less-aware neighbours. Knuckles whitened. Only now did Nagato notice the massed stares of the girls, and where their gazes switched from. She, too, looked upwards. Her face turned red, and down her head went, avoiding everyone's gaze.

It was now that Bismarck, Gneisenau, Seydlitz, and those seated at the far table noticed what was causing all of the commotion. There, where the empress doll should have sat unblinkingly, sat a replica of Nagato. It struck them there and then how uncanny the resemblance was.

The hubbub continued all around them. The crowd seethed with suppressed rage, but could do nothing in the presence of the solemn Admiral.

When the rice cakes had been exhausted and the sake jug safely stowed away, the girls rose as one and saluted their Admiral, who dismissed them with a casual wave – and a wave the girls became, an unstoppable tide of anger and retribution that sought one thing only: Nagato. But she was nowhere to be found. While some of the less passionate proceeded to the festival lights that now surrounded the local shrine, others ran the length of the base, baying for the blood of one particular person.

The Germans, too, could not find their commander in the torrent that separated the moment they left the grand hall. Leberecht and Konigsberg were swept up in the tide and were carried, albeit not unwillingly, to the stalls. Bismarck and the rest were far too proud to indulge in the games. They strolled casually in the afternoon sun, along the piers.

"Bismarck-san!"

It was Ise. She ran up out of breath and the Germans politely bowed to her. "What is it, Ise?" Gneisenau asked.

"Have any of you seen the emperor doll, by any chance? We were packing up the stand and we couldn't find it at all – I was wondering if you may have seen it-"

The murmurs of negativity gave Ise all the answer she needed. "Thanks, Bismarck-san. Where's Scheer-san?"

"We don't know. She disappeared after the ceremony."

"Well, if you see her…" Ise ran off. The German girls turned and continued their walk up the pier. They did not talk, but appreciated each other's presence in the silence. Bismarck looked down at the shining sea, Gneisenau merely felt the sea breeze on her hair, and Seydlitz ran stumbling among the flowerbeds.

"Isn't that…?" Gneisenau murmured, as they rounded the curve, and saw a lone figure by the quay. She had long black hair, and her grey dress seemed rather familiar-

"Frau Scheer!" Bismarck hailed. The girl turned her head, and all three could see the glimmer of cold eyes and stony face.

All three ran over. It was her, alright, but she seemed different, somehow; she held herself in a more relaxed stance than before, and did not look upon them with the slightest disdain.

"Frau Bismarck. What are you all doing here?"

Seydlitz pointed. "Frau Scheer, is that not-"

"This?" Scheer held up the object in her hand. It was the emperor doll, and close up they realised it was not just the emperor in depiction – it was a finely carved facsimile of the Admiral himself.

"Why do you have it? Frau Ise said she's been looking for it-"

"It… reminded me of home."

The other three stared at her, and she continued. "I have tried my hardest to assimilate myself into Japanese life, but I can't. I can't do it. My home is the west. I thought the Admiral doll looked much like Herr Erichsen, so here I am…"

The others could not believe their eyes. Scheer seemed so innocent, so fragile, that it was hard to believe she was their commander, the lady of war that so skilfully led them across two great oceans. She was like another being now, as if the Scheer of the old days did not exist.

"Frau Scheer-" Before Gneisenau and Bismarck could both comfort the changed Scheer and speak a few words of encouragement, the squeaky voice of Seydlitz drowned out whatever thoughts they had in that moment.

"Look! Look over there!"

All four girls looked towards the blue horizon. There, in the far periphery, tiny columns of smoke had appeared, too far to identify precisely, but close enough to herald their arrival.


	8. The Wounds of History

The new Admiral shook hands with the old Admiral, and the two parted. The latter moved to his old staff car, which bore him speedily to the island aerodrome. The new Admiral maintained his salute as the car disappeared from sight, then turned and assumed his new post.

Rear Admiral Ikuzo Kishi was a not an unkind man, but he was approaching his fifties and he could already notice the increasing periods of grouchiness that occupied much of his office time. It didn't help that he'd been transferred on such short notice, or the fact that he much preferred a desk job.

Command was not unfamiliar to him. Administration, however, he excelled in. His superiors had normally depended on him for his gift of organization, and his skill with logistics was unparalleled. Already following him were a convoy of trucks that now bore the supplies and articles for the days ahead. His colleagues couldn't believe that he'd successfully requisitioned the exact number of transport planes for his new appointment – much to their chagrin.

"What a damned misfortune, this appointment," he murmured to himself, shaking his head as he climbed the stairs.

He pushed open the door ahead and found a scene that had greeted him many times in his career – lines of brushed-up, uniformed staff at attention upon his arrival. And he was not at all surprised by the fact that girls outnumbered men – after all, seniority in this chaotic world invariably led to many reassignments, as per the Navy's policy.

Kishi took their salutes as he ambled past, accompanied by the base liaison and vice-commander, a girl slightly taller than him, wearing flowing yellow robes and a cheery smile. The layout of administration building was familiar to him the moment he stepped across the threshold. He walked without hesitation in the pristine corridors, and before long reached the first conference room.

The scowl that had accompanied him all the way up the stairs and through the corridors remained as he entered the long, well-lit meeting room. It was as drab and bland as his previous base.

The girls (and a single man) sitting at the long table looked askance at the stern admiral before rising and saluting en masse. Kishi cast a lingering eye other them and after coming to terms with his new staff, sat down at the head of the table.

Nagato sat to his immediate left, representing the battleships. Beside her was Myoukou, for the elder cruisers, and Ooyodo next to her representing the administration department and light cruisers. On the other side Hiryuu sat down opposite Nagato.

Shiranui, with a bored expression on her face, sat near the end of the table. Opposite her sat the representative of the lower destroyers, the nervous Inazuma. Standing at attention off near the door at the end of the hall was special-service lieutenant Hanamura Koichi, who had tended to the base as head guardsman.

"Is this everyone, Hanamura-san?" Kishi asked, without raising his voice.

"Yes, sir!"

"Hmmm." The grey Admiral cast an appraising eye over the assembled girls. They were seasoned, yes, but had been cooped up in Okinawa for quite a while. He shifted his thoughts to the service log of the previous Admiral, who had got away with a remarkable degree of largesse with the running of the base. It would take a firm hand to put the base back in order, back into a bastion of the Navy.

"Anything outstanding to report, Nagato-san?" he asked. He didn't need to ask their names. He'd already met or studied them before.

"Sir!" Nagato stood up. "The base is currently operating at reasonable efficiency. There are no outstanding issues to be reported."

_Kept it all under wraps, did you now? _Kishi thought to himself. He grunted his acknowledgement and the battleship sat back down. _Pray I do not discover your secrets, Admiral. _

While the special-service lieutenant might be oblivious to matters that lay under the surface of the base, Kishi instinctively saw the subtle glances that the girls gave each other, especially a tiny shift of the head from Shiranui, which was confirmation enough for him.

"My name is Rear-Admiral Ikuzo Kishi, and from here forwards I am the new commanding officer of this base. I expect a higher standard of service from each of you and your charges under my command." His voice was stern and carried the cold steel of a man at the pinnacle of his skill. This time he could see clearly the nervous shifting of some of the younger girls.

He pressed his advantage. "I know not what laxity this base has been subjected to under the command of the previous Admiral. It is Command's opinion that he has misused his ability and committed several questionable acts during his posting here. If any of you have evidence of his misdeeds, you are to report it to me at once."

More girls shifted uncomfortably at this statement. Little Inazuma was the worst off, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. Shiranui was just about to extend a hand to comfort her when the conference room door banged open.

"Sorry I'm late, sorry I'm late!" Another officer bawled into the room, to the surprise of everyone present. He wore the same white uniform of the newly-arrived rear-admiral, but his features belied his youth.

While Kishi looked askance at the new and late arrival, the attitudes of the girls visibly brightened. Some of the older girls blushed slightly at the sight of the unkempt and tardy Commander, while the younger ones giggled softly.

The older rear admiral turned to the girls. "Who is this man?" he asked, sensing their familiarity with the newcomer.

"Sir, that's rather rude of you not to ask the man himself," the Commander said in between breaths. "Perhaps Koichi-san has not briefed you on the customs of this base…?"

"I have no need of such customs!" Kishi snapped. The relief on the girls' faces quickly turned from amusement to hostility. "What is your name and rank?"

"Commander Oichi Sazanami, sir." The Commander straightened, settled his breath, and saluted. "Apologies for the delay, I was helping the quartermaster with the new supplies-"

"Oh, is that so, Sazanami-san?" Kishi's eyes glinted dangerously on hearing this. "Tell me… did you fill in the appropriate paperwork?"

"Yes, we did, sir."

"In triplicate?"  
"In two sets of copies, sir."

Rear Admiral Kishi was taken aback. "Signed by both responsible officers?"

"On all copies, sir."

"One copy sent to all departments?"

"Taken care of, sir."

"What's that meant to mean, Sazanami-san?"

"Already done, sir."

"I don't believe you," Kishi deflated, staring at the young officer before him with wonder. "Is that why you came in late to this briefing, then?"

"No, sir, I was-"

"Don't deny it! Excuses are inexcusable!"

"I was merely overseeing the renovations to this buildings. The workers arrived just now, and they wanted orders."

"I- I-" For the first time in his career, Kishi was tongue-tied, unable to comprehend the total control that Commander Sazanami had over the situation. Frustrated and angry, he fought to contain his emotion as he turned back to the sitting girls. Gritting his teeth, he could do nothing to stop the Commander from taking the salutes of the girls.

* * *

"Look!"

The columns of black smoke grew on the horizon. Gneisenau counted them, twelve, sixteen, then twenty three.

"Abyssals?!" Seydlitz cried. "But no-one's on readiness! Quick, we've got to-"

"Stay calm, Frau Seydlitz!" Scheer commanded. "We must warn the Admiral and the harbour guard – Seydlitz, tell the Admiral! Bismarck, alert the guards! Meet us at the arsenal once you're dismissed. Gneisenau, with me!"

"Jawohl!" Bismarck ran down the sidewalk, while Seydlitz sprinted for administration. Gneisenau followed Scheer as the cruiser ran towards the arsenal.

The beating of the festival drums could be heard as Scheer raced down the waterfront, towards the big warehouse where each girl's equipment was stored. Other girls, enjoying the atmosphere of the festival, stared as the two uniformed Germans ran past.

They reached the arsenal gate just as the long, dreadful siren began to wail. A trio of airplanes whizzed overhead, headed south. The guardsmen, despite the alarm, stood still at their posts, refusing Scheer and Gneisenau entry.

"I'm sorry, girls, but no admittance without authorization," the stolid guard persisted. "There's been no word from the Admiral or the duty officer and we're not to allow anyone until we get word."

"But you must let us in! The base could be in danger!" Gneisenau pleaded. Scheer, however, remained quiet, and in her ordered mind sharpened by years of combat experience she quickly analysed the situation unfolding before her.

The fleet was approaching, yes, but so far the aircraft that now flew south to observe showed no signs of haste or urgency. Indeed, they flew in neat formations of threes and fours, like a procession on parade.

Scheer looked towards the watchtowers. Sure enough, she could make out the yellow figure with bow drawn, as well as the other carriers that oversaw the initial reconnaissance. While the siren had cleared the streets of lounging girls almost instantly, there did not seem to be much activity near the arsenal aside from their presence.

_What's going on? _Scheer thought to herself, as Gneisenau continued to plead with the guard. Her question was just about to be answered.

Suddenly, the guardsmen shot to attention in the middle of Gneisenau's pleading. Both of them turned around, and before them stood a man in the white officer's uniform of the Imperial Japanese Navy. He was clean-shaven, with smooth forehead and combed hair. The officer sported the patterns of a captain on his epaulettes.

"Is there a problem here, Oori-kun?" the officer enquired. His voice was not unkind but it was filled with authority and firmness.

"Sir! The two ships here wish to gain entry into the arsenal without permission! The siren has sounded but I have received no orders to admit anyone in."

"Very well, Oori-kun." The captain waved the soldier down. Then he turned to Scheer and Gneisenau. "You will have to forgive me, but who exactly are you?" he asked. "I don't believe we've met."

Scheer stepped forward. "My name is Scheer and I am here as the commander of the German forces admitted into this base. My colleague here is named Gneisenau-" She gestured to the battlecruiser, who bowed. "-and we are here on the invitation of the Japanese government. Surely the Admiral has told you of the situation?"

"Unfortunately, no." A shadow flitted across his benign face for a moment. "The Admiral keeps those sorts of things close to his chest. But it seems that for the present moment I will have to take you at your word." Another plane flew overhead, and the siren continued unabated. "But what of your orders? Have you been issued any?"

"We haven't been issued any orders, sir, but we were trying to arm ourselves just in case if this is an attack," Scheer responded, without blushing or changing her tone.

The captain shook his head. "Admirable, admirable indeed your concern is for an island you've only just settled in. But I would have believed such girls as yourself would know the protocol at least?"

"I apologize, sir." The cruiser bowed low. Then it struck Scheer that she did not yet know the captain's name. She rose from her bow. "Sir, might I know your name?"

"I am Captain Oichi Sazanami, head of logistics here at Okinawa. It is a pleasure to meet you, Scheer and please, don't apologize for something so minor. It is good to see our care for you and your comrades is equalled by your sense of duty."

"I understand, sir." Scheer smiled inwardly, appreciating Captain Sazanami's magnanimity and humble nature. "But sir, what will happen now?"

"We're waiting on Intelligence to give us the information we need," Sazanami said, jabbing a thumb back in the general direction of the administration building. "Though I suspect Operations will have already scrambled a squadron to intercept the fleet. See-" He pointed to the distant horizon, where a smaller clump of smoke columns was already making its way south.

"Oh, I see…" Scheer, settling back into her usual, cold self, fell silent as the captain watched the intercepting fleet drift closer to the unidentified group.

"Frau Scheer! Frau Scheer!"

The three of them turned towards the calls and say Seydlitz and Bismarck running down the sidewalk. They jogged to a halt before Scheer and Gneisenau and reported their experiences.

"The shore batteries have been warned, Frau Scheer." Bismarck reported, collecting her breath remarkably quickly.

"The Admiral was notified, Frau Scheer!" Seydlitz said, and turned to look out at the approaching smoke columns. "Ah, he was most surprised, but he said he'd investigate it immediately…"

"What did he say about us?" Gneisenau asked.

"He told us to stay put and keep an ear out for any warnings over the speakers. Whew!" Then she noticed Captain Sazanami. "Oh, an officer! Nice to meet you, sir!"

In Scheer's mind she was about to rebuke the jolly carrier, but something checked her. "This is Captain Oichi Sazanami, Frau Seydlitz.," she said instead. "He is head of the logistics department here. Sir, this is the carrier Seydlitz, and the battleship Bismarck."

Both newcomers bowed. The captain bowed as well. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Seydlitz, Bismarck."

"Frau Scheer, what now?" Bismarck asked.

"We wait," Scheer replied bluntly.

"Well, I think it would be better if we were to wait with some tea in hand," Captain Sazanami said. "Would you like to come? It is rather dull standing here."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Ah, come on, why'd it have to be us again this time?" Sakawa bawled. "It's no fair, I say, no fair!"

The destroyers giggled. Noshiro glared at them, stifling their suppressed merriment, then turned back to her sister.

"Why us, huh? Why us again…"

The radio crackled into life. "Interceptor Fleet, recon reporting." The confident, collected voice of Akagi came over the speakers. "We have visuals… enemy aircraft ahead!"

The entire fleet stiffened. Turrets whirred into life and eyes darted left, right, up and down, scanning the skies for the "bandits".

"Recon reporting again," Akagi came over the radio, this time her voice, much to Sakawa's and Noshiro's surprise, was apologetic. "I'm sorry, Sakawa-san, but the enemy aircraft don't seem to be very hostile – they've just made some passes around my planes, and one even dived on my squadron without firing. I'll have more information soon."

"What's the enemy doing, playing around with our aircraft…?" Noshiro wondered aloud. Some of the destroyers, unnerved at the news, faltered and began to slip out of formation, fixated on the clouded sky.

"This doesn't sound good…" Sakawa mused, hugging herself. "Everyone, stay alert! Come on, girls, stick to formation!"

"Guns at the ready!" Noshiro shouted. "We could engage at any moment!"

"Yes, Noshiro-san!" The destroyers skirted back into the line, tense, expecting the worst. It was a big let-down, then, when Akagi reported in just five minutes later.

"Sakawa-san…" This time Akagi's voice was tense, and Sakawa braced for the worst. A gigantic Abyssal fleet was approaching, she was sure of it. Or worse, the vanguard for an even larger force. She shuddered, trying to dispel the fought. It was a holiday, a _matsuri, _and here was an enemy force that had the audacity to try to ruin the day.

Sakawa and Noshiro would have none of it. She would take them down here, even if it meant at the cost of her own life. Now was not the time for tactics and strategy. Now was the time for-

"It's… it's _her._" Something in Akagi's voice stopped Sakawa's train of thought. The veteran carrier sounded timid, meek and afraid. Sakawa halted the entire fleet. What horror could possibly lie over the horizon that would even make _Akagi _afraid?

"Interceptor Fleet to recon, what's wrong? Have we identified the enemy force?" No reply, but she was sure she could hear the shouts and babble of a roomful of people. "Hello? Fleet to base, fleet to base, what's going on?"

"Interceptor fleet, this is the Admiral." A gruff, manly voice replaced Akagi over the radio. "The enemy fleet has been identified. We have twenty-four ships approaching from the south-south-east. Composition comprises of six battleships, five carriers, seven cruisers, and six destroyers."

"Sir, did you say _twenty-four ships_?" Sakawa incredulously asked, her worst fears confirmed. Her despair deepened as she realised her situation was hopeless against such firepower. They would be lucky to survive the air onslaught, let alone the firepower the Abyssals could bring to bear with that many ships.

"Twenty-four, confirmed. But there's something you should know, Sakawa-san…"

"What is it, Admiral? We'll fight to the last ship if you wish it!" Sakawa punched the air, and a rallying cry rent the air.

"These ships do not belong to the Abyssals. They're American and British."

Silence for a few moments.

"Admiral…? Are you sure of what you're saying…?" Sakawa timidly asked, her nightmares and dreams cracking and beginning to crumble as she digested this information.

"That's right, Sakawa." The light cruiser could only listen to the raucous laughter and hubbub in the background as it dawned on her.

"A-a-admiral! You scared me there, pyaa!" Sakawa fumed and ranted as the truth was disseminated throughout the interceptor fleet. Noshiro was livid, her face red with rage, and the destroyers looked confused.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But don't let down your guard," the Admiral said, his voice still deadly serious. "But use the same protocol when you approach, got that?"

"Yes, Admiral." Sakawa muted the radio. "Jeez, that dirty Admiral! When I get back to base, I'm going to…"

"Concentrate, sister. Let's go link up and then we can go home," Noshiro said. She was remarkably calm even after realizing the prank the Admiral had pulled on them. "Americans and British ships, huh…"

"Is it really true, Noshiro-san?" Sakawa asked, with shining eyes. "I wonder what they're like?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Only one way to find out, though."

"You're right, Noshiro-san. Fleet, let's move! Full speed ahead!"

The fleet chugged back to life and the light fleet sped towards the approaching combined fleet. They slowed as the smoke columns became larger, and stopped as the first figures appeared over the horizon. They could see the American and British ships steaming towards them in two long lines, and as they approached it became apparent that indeed, these were not Abyssals, but shipgirls in the same general model as themselves. Never mind the foreign pennants and markings.

The combined fleet stopped just a kilometre off, a distance at which Sakawa could even make out the superstructures of the ships that stood opposite them. Within five minutes the radio came to life, and a new voice, a stern but well-meaning voice came over the channel.

"This is United States Task Force 70.4 and the British Second Pacific Fleet, broadcasting on revolving frequencies. If you can hear us, please respond immediately. I repeat, this is United States Task Force…"

Sakawa jabbed the button on her microphone. "This is the 6th Interceptor Fleet of the Ryukyu Fleet, we hear you." Her hands shook as she addressed the Americans and the British. "What is your business in these waters?"

"We are on course to dock at Okinawa Base, as per our combined orders. We have been told that your base was expecting us. Is this correct?"

The base was expecting them? The mysteries just kept piling up. "Ummm, err, please give me a second to confirm with base…"

"Interceptor fleet to base, Sakawa here. Do we admit them? They're saying that they have orders to enter Okinawa."

"Escort them back to base. Everything has been prepared." The Admiral sounded perfectly normal as he gave the order. There was no tone to suggest any hostility.

"Yes, Admiral." Sakawa switch back to the Americans. "Well, base has confirmed it. We'll escort you to Okinawa."

"Much appreciated. We will follow your course."

Sakawa gave the order and her ships wheeled about, headed back to base. The light cruiser looked back at the following fleet, and found them formed into a line-ahead, two abreast. They were still too far away for her to see their faces, but they were definitely a varied lot.

"Sakawa to base. Now escorting the combined fleet back to base."

"Roger that, Sakawa-san. We've got 7th Support and 9th Guards ready to receive them. You are to dock and proceed to dispersals as quickly as possible. You are not to speak with any of them, understood?"

"But sir-"

"That's an order, Sakawa-san. Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities to meet our…" and here the Admiral struggled for a moment, "…_guests _once they're settled on our base. That is all." The radio clicked off.

"Damn that shitty Admiral…" Sakawa groused, as she skated onwards.

* * *

Instead of the cheery welcoming party that had greeted the Germans as they made their approach, the party that awaited the American and British fleets had been carefully picked, but even so it was impossible to not have a stony face in the crowd.

The normally-cheerful Haruna stood at the forefront of the welcoming party, but even she was ill at ease greeting the very ships that had burned away her previous life. There were four destroyers, as well, and the Admiral had been careful to pick those least affected by history, but alas, that was nigh impossible.

No carriers stood by, for the Admiral knew that all of them would be almost hostile to the newcomers. Instead some of the more ignorant or emotionless cruisers assumed their positions, such as Natori and Ooyodo.

But despite this careful planning, one thought dominated the minds of those who stood by the quay – the thought of meeting the ships that barely a decade before they had fought, albeit in their old lives. It was a thought that each of them grappled with, tormenting them with each passing moment. This brooding induced silence in the ranks, with no words of wonder or excitement filling the air.

In an effort to rally his own units, the Admiral stood by off to the side, accompanied by nearly all the departmental heads and a small platoon of coastal guards. He wanted to see for himself what these foreigners looked like, curiosity overcoming the traditional hatred.

"Escorts spotted."

Within half an hour, Sakawa's vanguard could be seen making its way towards the harbour. Behind her, the forest of smoke plumes followed, and the Admiral absentmindedly counted them when they became distinguishable.

Twenty-four plumes. Twenty-four arrivals. Twenty-four former adversaries. And here they were, welcoming them into the fold as if they were their own comrades.

But it had to be done. Great powers beyond his imagining had moved in this world, powers beyond the overcoming of the evil that had arisen. This was a power that could not be defeated by the efforts of a single nation alone.

The girls, however, knew none of that. They were his pawns, knights and rooks on the board of tactical battle, the kind of battle they inherently understood and lived for, and he knew he himself was a pawn on the board of his superiors, who played the vastly riskier game of global strategy. He reasoned that in the grand scheme of things, he was probably better off in his humble station.

Sakawa and her cohort landed at the docks and immediately trooped off, without a word to the waiting welcoming party aside from the obligatory salutes and hand-waves as the welcoming party tried to shake free of their gloom, if only for a short moment.

For not long after Sakawa landed, the Allied fleet could be seen properly, in full. Twelve American shipgirls led the fleet while their British counterparts brought up the second wave.

The fleet came to a halt. The leader of the Americans, a tall, imposing girl in black tights and flowing white uniform carrying the bulky superstructure of a battleship, moved forward slightly. The Admiral rapped out a few cursory commands, and the guards platoon wheeled left to face the quayside. The welcoming party stood their ground, the destroyers gripping the brightly-painted banner tightly while the rest stared down the newcomers.

The Admiral's first thought as he gazed upon the Americans was how beautiful they all looked – then, casting away his own personal thoughts he saw their daunting bulk, the gleaming steel of their equipment.

"This is United States Task Force 70.4, combined with the British Second Pacific Fleet. We have orders to dock and commence operations with the Ryukyu Fleet. Permission to land?"

"Permission-" the Admiral hesitated, and all eyes of the welcoming party glanced at his direction. He knew that there would be much conflict on the base as a result of this decision, but after all they had come here of their own accord, and the authority that they entered under was probably higher up the chain of command than he cared to go. He resigned himself to the inevitable. "-granted."

* * *

"Ah, the tea here is certainly very refreshing," Bismarck mused.

The five of them, four German shipgirls and the navy captain, sat at their own little table at the base parlour, sipping tea while regaling the mild-mannered captain with their stories of base life in Wilhelmshaven. With beer unavailable to Okinawa due to a difficult supply line and tight budget, the German girls had to content themselves with the green tea, which was still a fine beverage in its own right.

"So, what about Channel operations?" Captain Sazanami asked.

"Ah, now those operations were very fun," Gneisenau replied, smiling at the memories. "We thought that the British and the French would be reluctant to help us in our offensive operations, but as it turned out-"

"-they wanted us to help as much as possible." Seydlitz continued, as Gneisenau took another sip of her tea. "Oh, the girls we saw! Beautiful in uniform, dazzling smiles, but very, very strict on duty. Much like us, really. It's a shame none of them ever came down for an exchange…"

"Oh?" The captain sounded puzzled by this. "The British and the French refused to exchange units?"

"Yes, that is correct, Herr Sazanami." Seydlitz put a hand to her mouth as the captain blushed slightly and Scheer shot a disapproving glance at her. "Sorry, Frau Scheer…"

"It's fine, it's fine," Captain Sazanami reassured her. "I never thought I would be addressed like a German gentleman." He laughed.

"We so very wanted to go, Captain Sazanami," Gneisenau continued. "But we were told time and again the British had no intention of letting any of us visit England."

"So that's why-" and here Seydlitz lowered her voice to a whisper, "that's why we sneaked over there while on leave."

Scheer and Bismarck almost spit out their tea as they heard this. "What on earth are you talking about, Frau Seydlitz?" Scheer demanded.

"It was me, Frau Emden, and Frau von Berlichingen and dear old Kapitanleutnant Gunther, just a quiet sightseeing tour, harmless!" Seydlitz threw her hands into the air. "Oh, England! Lovely land, lovely people, but I think the British knew who we were from the moment we landed, though."

"Oh? How so, Frau Seydlitz?" Bismarck asked, with Scheer sitting beside her listening while radiating waves of disapproval.

"Well, I think they knew from the way we were dressed, really. Herr Kapitanleutnant tried to put on an act with Frau von Berlichingen pretending that we were a visiting family, but he wasn't very convincing."

"Soon we had little boys and girls running up to us asking if we were stationed at the base near there, near Dover, I think. We told them no, but they weren't convinced. We tried to get onto a train to London, because Gunther and Emden were very interested in going. But at Dover station, guess who we bumped into? It was two of our British comrades, Victorious and Illustrious!"

"Now, since we'd done some operations with them, they knew our faces, and they immediately pointed us out but bless them, they didn't rat us out to the guards. We walked over and introduced ourselves, and that was that! They invited us along to London, and we happily followed along, but Frau von Berlichingen was very uncomfortable with having to be in the company of two very prominent British carriers, and she chafed very much when people came up to get the carrier's autographs. It was lucky we weren't recognized…"

"We shopped with them at Burlington Arcade, had tea at the Strand, and they were very fair to accompany us back to Dover, where we said our goodbyes. Of course, Herr Erichsen was very furious when he found out, and had Herr Gunther locked up in the guardroom when he heard us out."

"Ah, I remember that, that day when Herr Erichsen was really angry about something… that was you, wasn't it?" Bismarck said.

"That's right, Frau Bismarck! Ah, how I want to be in London again… Wilhelmshaven looked so grey and boring after that trip."

Captain Sazanami nodded sagely. "Well, from what I heard about the last Admiral's experiences, he did describe the place just as you say." He took another sip of his tea, and then called out over his shoulder. "Hosho-san, another pot of tea, please!"

At that moment, the parlour door opened, and a flurry of people entered the room. The German girls idly glanced over, and in an instant their glances became stares as they identified the people that had entered. They could not believe their eyes as the strangers before them became familiar, and as they registered the navy-blue uniforms, peaked caps and gold braid…

Captain Sazanami, puzzled by the sudden silence, looked over. His jaw dropped as he saw the girls file in, moving rather nervously towards the empty tables. Suddenly, the characters that Seydlitz had told of had become flesh before his very eyes.

The five of them continued to gape as the entire British Second Pacific Fleet, led by the intrepid Ark Royal, filed into the tea room.

The famous aircraft carrier, Ark Royal, with her growing amber hair unsullied by the barber's scissors after so many weeks at sea, led the formidable group. Beside her the prim and proper carrier Victorious spoke reassuring words to those following. Three battleships took up the rear – the veteran Warspite, with her white hair as a result of years of campaigning, the mighty but inexperienced Lion, who twirled her blonde hair nervously, and King George V, looking cheery at all the new things to look at.

Seydlitz was too distracted by the newcomers to notice Victorious homing in on her. "Seydlitz! What the devil are you doing here? And-" Victorious bowed slightly upon seeing Scheer, who stood up to acknowledge the carrier.

"It is a delight to be among old comrades again, Victorious." Scheer was infallibly polite even when surprised. "What brings you to Okinawa?"

"I might ask you the same thing," Victorious replied, although not without a slight edge to her voice. "We were not told that you would be here as well. I suppose the Admiralty had far more pressing matters than to tell us there'd be a chance that we'd meet the Germans here…"

"Well, perhaps we might interrogate the Japanese Admiral on this issue later," Scheer said, deftly laying aside the issue. "And while you are here, I don't suppose you could observe the same protocols as we have in other places? You must know how sensitive the atmosphere is here."

Victorious nodded. "Yes, I understand, Scheer. We'll get to reconciliation once we've all settled in, eh?"

"Reconciliation?" Bismarck snorted, showing her obvious contempt for the term. "I'll not take such apologies from you _schweinhund, _you-"

"Frau Bismarck, silence!" Scheer flared, and immediately the mighty battleship, who was just a single word away from an explosive rant, was quelled. "Apologies, Victorious."

"Apology accepted, Scheer." Without saying another word Victorious returned to her own group.

The Germans, one furious, two unruffled and one deathly calm, sat in silence and drank their tea. It took the odd one out, the mild-mannered captain, to bring the conversation back.

"I don't suppose then, with all due respect-" the captain glanced back at the large group of British shipgirls, some of whom looked curiously in their direction, "that you are the best of friends?"

The Germans remained silent at this. Even Seydlitz, who had been babbling away about her experiences with the lovely British, looked subdued. Scheer, however, spoke up for them.

"Friends we may not be, and enemies we were in our former lives. But now that we are all together, everything must change."

Bismarck and Gneisenau looked up at Scheer. Seydlitz looked idly at the British girls, who were now ordering tea from the impassive Hosho, who had not flinched or reacted at the presence of so many new faces.

Scheer went on. "The truth of this operation, although we were told little of what may happen after we had arrived, is finally clear to me. The admirals in Berlin know this – so do the admirals in London, Washington and Tokyo. I can see it all now…"

"See what, Frau Scheer?" Bismarck asked quietly.

"Unity."

That word hit the four others seated, and slowly but surely the truth began to dawn upon them as well. But Bismarck would not accept it so easily.

"Frau Scheer, this is madness," Bismarck protested. "This is beyond what even the statesmen of our lands can accomplish. How can we succeed where they have failed?"

"We share a common enemy, Frau Bismarck. In these waters, where war is the most savage of all, we will find it. I am sure of it."

Bismarck lapsed back into silence. Then Captain Sazanami spoke. "Scheer, your wisdom amazes me. But can you tell me how this unity will come about? Like your neighbours there we also do not forget the wounds of the past so easily."

Scheer was resolute. "I have come here to find it, not to force it. This is something that we must all work towards, not just on our own. And then we may all begin to see it."


End file.
